December 7, 2022
The Middle East, North Africa, and Afghanistan: Selected
Issues for the 118th Congress
U.S. interests and policy in an evolving Middle East and
of partner governments and armed groups; closer ties with
North Africa (MENA) region are changing, as U.S. national
Russia and China; and an advancing nuclear program.
security strategy prioritizes competition with China and
In response, Congress has authorized sanctions and required
Russia and as the United States has withdrawn some
legislative review of agreements over Iran’s nuclear
military forces from longstanding regional conflicts. The
program. The 2015 nuclear deal (Joint Comprehensive Plan
118th Congress may review U.S. approaches to the MENA
of Action, or JCPOA) imposed limits on Iran’s nuclear
region as Members consider proposals to fund and
program in exchange for relief from most U.S. and
authorize U.S. programs and exercise oversight of foreign
international sanctions. The Trump Administration
policy, defense, intelligence, and assistance initiatives.
withdrew the United States from the accord in 2018. The
The United States has devoted significant resources,
Biden Administration sought to revive the accord, but those
including the deployment of military forces, to combat
indirect talks stalled. Some Members have called on the
terrorist threats and stabilize parts of the MENA region
Biden Administration to formally terminate JCPOA
since 2001. The Biden Administration has said it seeks to
negotiations. The Biden Administration reportedly is
build a cooperative network of MENA partner countries
resistant to ending those negotiations, but U.S. officials
and enable them to meet shared challenges. According to
have emphasized they are not actively pursuing them.
the 2022 National Security Strategy, the Administration
intends to bolster the resilience and capabilities of MENA
Figure 1. Middle East, North Africa, and Afghanistan
partners and believes that a “more integrated Middle East
that empowers our allies and partners will advance regional
peace and prosperity, while reducing the resource demands
the region makes on the United States over the long term.”
The 118th Congress will likely face both longstanding and
emergent issues in the MENA region. These include the
multilateral impasse with the Islamic Republic of Iran (Iran)
over its nuclear program; concern over Iran’s support for
armed groups across the MENA region; unrest in Iran;
leadership transitions in Israel and perhaps among
Palestinian groups; and the potential for renewed Taliban

rule in Afghanistan to allow global terrorists to reconstitute
Source: CRS, using State Department and ESRI data.
their capabilities.
The September 2022 death of a young woman named
Conflict, tension, and crises in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Libya,
Mahsa Amini sparked protests that have presented a
and Lebanon pose enduring risks to the region’s stability
significant challenge to the Iranian government’s authority.
and generate ongoing demands on U.S. foreign assistance,
In response, the Biden Administration has expressed public
diplomacy, and military resources. Tunisia, the one “Arab
Spring” country to have established a multiparty
support for the protesters; sanctioned dozens of individuals
and entities involved in the violent crackdown against the
democracy, is becoming increasingly authoritarian. Facing
demonstrators; and sought to facilitate Iranians’ internet
economic pressure, Egypt has sought support from Arab
access. Members of Congress are likely to oversee and seek
Gulf states. Across the region, economic recovery and
to shape U.S. policy responses to the protests.
growth prospects are uneven, affecting MENA countries’
ability to grapple with challenges posed by climate change,
U.S. policymakers also have expressed concern about Iran’s
demographic pressures, and new technologies.
provision of weaponry to Russia for use in Ukraine.
Iran
Israel and the Palestinians
Since the 1979 establishment of the Islamic Republic,
Israel’s security and its efforts to peacefully resolve
successive U.S. Administrations and Congresses have
disputes with the Palestinians have been decades-long U.S.
identified Iran as a multifaceted threat to the United States.
policy priorities. Congress has required the executive
Iran seeks to erode U.S. influence in the Middle East while
branch to certify that arms sales to MENA countries will
projecting power in neighboring states through a variety of
not adversely affect Israel’s “qualitative military edge” over
means, including the development of advanced missile and
neighboring militaries. Since FY2019, Congress annually
unmanned aerial vehicle capabilities; support for a number
has appropriated $3.3 billion in Foreign Military Financing
and an additional $500 million for U.S.-Israel missile
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The Middle East, North Africa, and Afghanistan: Selected Issues for the 118th Congress
defense programs. Some Members of Congress have sought
Taliban actions also led to significant reverses in protection
to augment or expedite aid or arms sales in response to
of the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan, a longtime
expressed Israeli needs.
bipartisan policy concern. The Taliban have prohibited girls
from attending school at the secondary level, and have
In many respects, U.S.-Israel cooperation has steadily
dramatically curtailed women’s roles.
grown. For example, U.S. officials have helped Israel build
upon diplomatic advances such as the 2020-2021 Abraham
Since 2021, Afghanistan, already one of the world’s poorest
Accords (involving the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and
countries, has faced intersecting humanitarian and
Morocco) by encouraging Arab states and other countries to
economic crises. The cut-off of international development
cooperate strategically, economically, and culturally with
assistance, U.S. sanctions on the Taliban, and the U.S. hold
Israel on matters of mutual interest. Israel’s 2021
on Afghan central bank assets have contributed to these
integration into U.S. Central Command’s area of
challenges. The Biden Administration and many in
responsibility has bolstered opportunities for the U.S.
Congress seek to ameliorate these crises, but without taking
military to work with Israel and some Arab states on air
any action that boosts the Taliban’s position or that may be
defense coordination to counter Iran, though obstacles
perceived as doing so. Pursuing these policies in tandem
remain to more formal alignment and intelligence sharing.
may prove complicated given the Taliban’s apparent
However, Israeli authorities’ control over Palestinian life in
willingness to resist international pressure at the cost of
considerable humanitarian and economic suffering.
East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip
complicate Israel’s relations with the United States. The
Congressional oversight of U.S. Afghanistan policy could
Biden Administration supports a negotiated two-state
feature reporting requirements, additional hearings, and
solution, but is not actively pursuing talks. In efforts to keep
ongoing and new investigations. Future reports from the
diplomatic options open and help de-escalate ongoing
congressionally-created Afghanistan War Commission and
violence and unrest, the Administration has criticized steps
other bodies may offer lessons for legislators.
taken by both Israelis (settlement expansion, settler
violence, Palestinian home demolitions and evictions) and
“The future of the Middle East will be defined as much
Palestinians (incitement to violence and payments for
by climate, technological, and demographic changes as
individuals imprisoned for acts of terrorism). After a lull in
by traditional security matters.”
aid for the Palestinians during the Trump Administration,
- U.S. National Security Strategy, October 2022
Congress and the Biden Administration resumed some
economic, humanitarian, and security assistance. In light of
continued Israeli-Palestinian tensions, some Members of
Instability and Change in the MENA Region
Congress seek to add limits, conditions, or other oversight
Unrest, conflict, and change have swept the MENA region
measures to aid for either or both sides.
over the last two decades, miring some countries in
U.S. concerns about leadership in Israel, the West Bank,
stalemate and suffering but opening new possibilities for
and Gaza could affect deliberations in the 118th Congress.
others. Common challenges also are emerging. The 2022
After Israel’s November 2022 election, Benjamin
United Nations Climate Change Conference in Egypt
Netanyahu appears likely to form a government featuring
highlighted the MENA region as among the world’s most
ultra-nationalist coalition partners who might play a direct
water-stressed and vulnerable to climate change impacts.
role in managing sensitive Israeli-Palestinian interactions at
Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine has shaken global
Jerusalem holy sites and elsewhere. Restive Palestinian
energy and food markets and is demonstrating how events
groups in the West Bank appear to be vying for control
beyond the region may impose costs and consequences on
partly in anticipation of the potential departure of 87-year-
MENA societies. Some U.S. partners, such as the assertive
old Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The
leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, seek
Sunni Islamist group Hamas (a U.S.-designated terrorist
greater global influence and at times challenge U.S.
organization) maintains de facto rule in Gaza and
preferences, including through closer ties with Russia and
occasionally tries to use violence in contentious Israeli-
China.
Palestinian situations to boost its domestic popularity.
As the United States adjusts its regional presence and
Afghanistan
priorities and seeks cooperation from MENA partners,
The aftershocks of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan
Congress may reexamine patterns of U.S. engagement and
and the Taliban return to power continue to reverberate.
assistance and evaluate the effectiveness of the executive
Members of Congress have monitored the Taliban’s
branch’s approaches to advancing varied U.S. interests.
renewed rule, the status of the Islamic State, and Al Qaeda,
and U.S. efforts to counter these groups from “over the
Christopher M. Blanchard, Coordinator, Specialist in
horizon.” The 2022 National Defense Strategy states these
groups “have had their capabilit
Middle Eastern Affairs
ies degraded, but some may
Alexis Arieff, Specialist in African Affairs
be able to reconstitute them in short order.”
Carla E. Humud, Analyst in Middle Eastern Affairs
The status of tens of thousands of Afghans who had worked
Jeremy M. Sharp, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs
for the United States, and ongoing U.S. efforts to secure
Clayton Thomas, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs
their relocation, remains a concern for Members of
Jim Zanotti, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs
Congress. Many are still in Afghanistan but seek to leave;
others are in third countries pending processing for entry to
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the United States.
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The Middle East, North Africa, and Afghanistan: Selected Issues for the 118th Congress


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