Steven Simon

Steven Simon is a distinguished fellow and visiting professor at Dartmouth College and the author of Grand Delusion: The Rise and Fall of American Ambition in the Middle East. He spent 20 years in the U.S. government, holding senior positions in the State Department and at the National Security Council.

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Articles by Steven Simon
Civil defense paramedics and colleagues of those killed by an Israeli drone airstrike prepare a coffin in Al Nadja Hospital in Nabatieh, Lebanon.
Civil defense paramedics and colleagues of those killed by an Israeli drone airstrike prepare a coffin in Al Nadja Hospital in Nabatieh, Lebanon.

Israel’s Lebanon Strategy Is Self-Defeating This article has an audio recording

Analysis
Steven Simon
About two dozen schoolchildren around age 8 or so in black-and-white school uniforms play around on a concrete square with the U.S. and Israeli flags painted on the ground. Many of the children hold hands as they spin in a circle. Nearby, a banner with a portrait of Khamenei watches over the children.
About two dozen schoolchildren around age 8 or so in black-and-white school uniforms play around on a concrete square with the U.S. and Israeli flags painted on the ground. Many of the children hold hands as they spin in a circle. Nearby, a banner with a portrait of Khamenei watches over the children.

The Iran War Is Exposing Iraq’s Weaknesses This article has an audio recording

Analysis
Steven Simon, Adam Weinstein
A poster in Tehran's Revolution Square marks the 46th anniversary of the U.S. Embassy takeover and hostage crisis in Tehran on Nov. 5, 2025.
A poster in Tehran's Revolution Square marks the 46th anniversary of the U.S. Embassy takeover and hostage crisis in Tehran on Nov. 5, 2025.

No, Israel Did Not Compel the U.S. to Wage War on Iran This article has an audio recording

Argument
Steven Simon
A U.S. soldier holds a dog as forces patrol in Qamishli, Syria on Jan. 9.
A U.S. soldier holds a dog as forces patrol in Qamishli, Syria on Jan. 9.

Why Trump Can’t Ignore Syria

Analysis
Steven Simon, Jonathan Stevenson
People hold up a Palestinian flag and a portrait of assassinated Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh during a rally in Tehran.
People hold up a Palestinian flag and a portrait of assassinated Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh during a rally in Tehran.

Will Iran’s ‘Axis of Resistance’ Hold Together?

Analysis
Steven Simon, Adam Weinstein
U.S. President Joe Biden reaches his arm out a table to shake hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Both men wear dark suits and ties, and the Israeli and American flags hang in front of a blue curtain beyond the two leaders.
U.S. President Joe Biden reaches his arm out a table to shake hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Both men wear dark suits and ties, and the Israeli and American flags hang in front of a blue curtain beyond the two leaders.

Why Biden’s Gaza Gambit Is Likely to Fail

Analysis
Aaron David Miller, Steven Simon
Iranians celebrate the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, burning symbols and photos of European and American leaders, in Tehran on Feb. 11.
Iranians celebrate the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, burning symbols and photos of European and American leaders, in Tehran on Feb. 11.

Oct. 7 Changed Everything—but What if It Didn’t?

Analysis
Steven Simon, Aaron David Miller
U.S. soldiers patrol an area in the town of Tell Hamis, in Syria's northeastern Hasakah governorate.
U.S. soldiers patrol an area in the town of Tell Hamis, in Syria's northeastern Hasakah governorate.

U.S. Troops Are Dangerously Vulnerable in the Middle East

Argument
Adam Weinstein, Steven Simon
Biden, dressed in a casual half-zip sweatshirt, looks pensively downward as he stands facing numerous press microphones held out in his direction.
Biden, dressed in a casual half-zip sweatshirt, looks pensively downward as he stands facing numerous press microphones held out in his direction.

Grading Biden on the Israel-Hamas War

Argument
Steven Simon, Aaron David Miller
Biden and Mohammed bin Salman walk next to each other.
Biden and Mohammed bin Salman walk next to each other.

The U.S. Should Ask for More From Saudi Arabia

Argument
Steven Simon, Aaron David Miller
Flags of Saudi Arabia and Israel stand together in a kitchen staging area as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken holds meetings at the State Department in Washington on Oct. 14, 2021.
Flags of Saudi Arabia and Israel stand together in a kitchen staging area as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken holds meetings at the State Department in Washington on Oct. 14, 2021.

Is Saudi-Israeli Normalization Worth It?

Analysis
Aaron David Miller, Steven Simon
Then-U.S. Vice President Joe Biden gestures during a speech at Tel Aviv University in Israel on March 11, 2010. Biden was in the Middle East to meet Palestinian and Israeli leaders, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and then-Israeli President Shimon Peres.
Then-U.S. Vice President Joe Biden gestures during a speech at Tel Aviv University in Israel on March 11, 2010. Biden was in the Middle East to meet Palestinian and Israeli leaders, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and then-Israeli President Shimon Peres.

Biden Is About to Have His Hands Full in the Middle East

Argument
Aaron David Miller, Steven Simon
U.S. President Joe Biden boards Air Force One.
U.S. President Joe Biden boards Air Force One.

What to Expect From Biden’s Big Middle East Trip

Analysis
Aaron David Miller, Steven Simon
A convoy of Taliban fighters patrol along a street in Kabul on Sept. 2.
A convoy of Taliban fighters patrol along a street in Kabul on Sept. 2.

Afghanistan Was a Ponzi Scheme Sold to the American Public

Argument
Alan Richards, Steven Simon
U.S. Army troops from the 10th Mountain Division collect their duffels after returning from a nine-month deployment in Afghanistan to Fort Drum, New York, on Dec. 8, 2020.
U.S. Army troops from the 10th Mountain Division collect their duffels after returning from a nine-month deployment in Afghanistan to Fort Drum, New York, on Dec. 8, 2020.

What to Do With U.S. Forces in the Persian Gulf

Argument
Steven Simon, Richard Sokolsky
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