The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council hosted Mark Fitzpatrick, Executive Director, and Michael Elleman, Consulting Senior Fellow for Regional Security Cooperation, of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) for a policy luncheon on Wednesday in Washington, D.C.  The closed-door roundtable brought together over 40 public and private sector stakeholders to discuss the Gulf states view on Iran.  This event was the first in a series of forums that aim to highlight the U.A.E. and regional foreign policy matters.

Following an introduction from U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council President Danny Sebright, Mr. Fitzpatrick and Mr. Elleman each delivered their perspectives on the Arab Gulf state’s reaction to Iran and Iran’s behavior in the broader Middle East region.  During their presentations Mr. Fitzpatrick and Mr. Elleman each underscored their views regarding Iran’s impact in the region with regard to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and the Arab Gulf states’ concerns about non-nuclear challenges posed by Iran.

President of the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council, Danny Sebright with Consulting Fellow for Regional Cooperation for IISS, Michael Elleman
& Executive Director of IISS-Americas, Mark Fitzpatrick

During the session, U.S. and U.A.E. private and public sector representatives engaged Mr. Fitzpatrick and Mr. Elleman on regional developments and issues impacting the U.A.E. and the other Gulf states including trade with Iran, future access to nuclear power, Iranian expansion in the region, and the Gulf response to that expansion.

Mr. Fitzpatrick and Mr. Elleman concluded their remarks by thanking the honored guests and the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council for providing a platform upon which key stakeholders can better comprehend regional geopolitics.

Mr. Sebright concluded the luncheon by thanking the speakers and business community for their participation.

To find out more about IISS, the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council, and Guest Speakers, please see below.

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International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)

With offices in four global regions and an international membership of two thousand policy experts, scholars, business leaders and other opinion leaders, the London-based IISS is a leading authority on global security issues.It is renowned for its annual Military Balance assessment of countries’ armed forces and for its high-powered security summits, including the Shangri-La Dialogue and Manama Dialogue.

U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council

The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council is the premier business organization dedicated to advancing bilateral commercial relations. By leveraging its extensive networks in the U.S. and in the region, the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council provides unparalleled access to senior decision makers in business and government with the aim of deepening bilateral trade and investment.

Mark Fitzpatrick
Executive Director,IISS-Americas

After ten years heading the IISS Non-Proliferation and Nuclear Policy Program, Mark Fitzpatrick moved to Washington in December 2015 to also take on the role of Executive Director of the office here. Fitzpatrick’s research focus is on preventing nuclear dangers through non-proliferation, nuclear security and arms control. He has published and lectured extensively on issues related to Iran and other countries that pose proliferation challenges and is a frequent commentator on BBC, NPR and other global news outlets. His recent work has included leading a Track II dialogue involving Iranian and Arab opinion shapers.

Fitzpatrick joined IISS in 2005 after a distinguished 26-year career in the US Department of State, where for the previous ten years he focused on non-proliferation issues. In his last posting he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Non-proliferation (acting), responsible, inter alia, for policies to address the proliferation problems posed by Iran, North Korea, Libya, Iraq, South Asia and other regions of concern.

Michael Elleman
Consulting Senior Fellow for Regional Security Cooperation, IISS

Mr. Michael Elleman is a Consulting Senior Fellow for Regional Security Cooperation at the IISS, and the principal author of the IISS Strategic Dossier Iran’s Ballistic Missile Capabilities: A net assessment, as well as numerous articles on missile proliferation and US–NATO–Russian cooperation on missile defense. Presently, Elleman co-directs a project on Gulf Ballistic Missile Defence Cooperation, in parallel with his research on Iran’s evolving ballistic missile doctrine. Before joining IISS, Elleman spent five years at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he supported the implementation of Cooperative Threat Reduction programs sponsored by the US Department of Defense and the Department of Energy. He also provided weapons proliferation analyses to the Advanced Systems and Concepts Office (ASCO) at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). Previously, he spent 18 months at the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) as a missile expert for weapons inspection missions in Iraq. Prior to joining the UN, he spent two decades as a scientist as Lockheed Martin’s Research and Development Laboratory, where his activities focused on solid propellants, weapons elimination technologies, nuclear effects, and special materials research. From 1995 to 2001, he led a Cooperative Threat Reduction program in Russia aimed at dismantling obsolete long-range missiles. He is a graduate of physics from the University of California, Berkeley.