Abiy’s Election Victory Will Formalize His Coalition’s Domestic Mandate and Keep Ethiopia on Its Present Foreign Policy Trajectory
Israel Blocks Tehran’s Revolutionary Corridor and Ankara’s Neo-Ottoman Bid for Regional Dominance
France Recognized Palestine in Exchange for Elections. The Deadline Passed with No Vote—and Another Abbas in Power.
Qatar’s Deep Ties to the Muslim Brotherhood Are Highly Relevant in Alleged Meddling in Legal Actions Against the State of Israel
Cops Told to Log Anti-Islam Talk Under State Anti-Muslim Hostility Definition
With the U.S. Pledging Non-Interference in Domestic Affairs, the Revolutionary Guards May Believe They Have a Green Light to Slaughter Far More.
If No Ally Will Write the Red Lines of Israel Into a Deal, Then It Has No Choice but to Become the Guarantor of Its Own Security
Tehran Seeks Not Only a Deal with Washington but Also a Regional Framework That Makes Future Military Pressure More Costly
Cyprus and Kazakhstan Might Seem Worlds Apart, Yet Both Countries Are Discovering Benefits in Working Together
We Fought the Islamic Republic for Thirty-Nine Days and We Were Winning. The Memorandum in Islamabad Hands That Victory Back. And It Sells the Iranian People to Do It.
The Current MoU Appears to Signal the U.S. Desire to Quit the Fight
Iran’s Arsenal of Solid-Fuel Ballistic Missiles Has Become a Central Pillar of Its Deterrence Strategy and Power Projection
With Brutal Suppression of Protesters and Purges of Public Servants, Erdoğan Has Removed All Effective Opposition to His Rule
Difficult Questions Arise When Organizations Receiving Governmental Support Actively Participate in Domestic Political Controversies
The Post-October 7 Wars, Which Came with Expectations and Promises of ‘Total Victory,’ Are Over, as Are Their Illusions
Spotlight on the Deal With Iran
There is now a Memorandum of Understanding between Iran and the United States regarding the current conflict. The specifics are not fully defined but it is purported to contain agreement for elimination of the enriched uranium and the rest of the nuclear program. The mechanism for doing that is supposed to be determined in negotiations during the next 60 days.
The Strait of Hormuz has been declared open by both sides and oil prices have already begun to drop. But the issues of funding terrorist proxies and ballistic missile programs do not appear to be covered in this version. MEF fellows and experts weigh in on all of this.
The Strait of Hormuz has been declared open by both sides and oil prices have already begun to drop. But the issues of funding terrorist proxies and ballistic missile programs do not appear to be covered in this version. MEF fellows and experts weigh in on all of this.
As unrest spreads across Iran, the regime and the opposition both face narrowing choices.
There Is Growing Unease as Debate Intensifies over the Costs of a Confrontational Foreign Policy and the Country’s Direction
By Any Military Standard, the Islamic Republic Suffered a Catastrophe
No Agreement, Not This One and Not a Better One, Can Permanently Guarantee That Iran Never Builds a Nuclear Weapon
The U.S. and Israel Need a Concerted Strategy of Support for Both External and Internal Pressure on the Regime, with the Intention of Bringing It Down
Jerusalem Has Made Clear That Tehran’s Insistence on Linking Any Deal to a Ceasefire in Lebanon Will Not Constrain Its Response to Hezbollah Attacks
Spotlight on the Gulf States
The combined US and Israeli war against Iran also drew in a number of the Gulf States. Iran’s decision to attack them immediately after Operation Epic Fury began was meant to split them away. In perhaps the most fatal mistake for its survival, it ended up bringing them closer and creating a counter-Iran alliance.
The Abraham Accords are back under discussion and an idea of what type of power structure will replace Iran and its proxies has begin to emerge. That must survive the usual rivalries between the Gulf States themselves, but it seems to be a positive development.
The Abraham Accords are back under discussion and an idea of what type of power structure will replace Iran and its proxies has begin to emerge. That must survive the usual rivalries between the Gulf States themselves, but it seems to be a positive development.
Iran’s Broader Objective Appears to Be the Gradual Decoupling of Arab Oil Producers of the Persian Gulf from the U.S. Security Umbrella
A Consequential Fault Line in the Middle East Runs Not Just Between Riyadh and Tehran but Between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi
How a Coordinated International Campaign Is Targeting the United Arab Emirates
The Pipeline Would Cost Billions of Dollars, Take Years to Build, and Would Cross Multiple Jurisdictions, Not All of Them Reliable
The Decision Sends a Signal That National Priorities Now Outweigh Collective Discipline
Recovery Will Not Be Simply a Return to the Old Model, Now That Gulf States Are Diversifying Their Energy and Economies
Middle East Quarterly - Summer 2026
Founded in 1994 by Daniel Pipes, MEQ is the Middle East Forum’s journal intended for both scholars and the educated public. Policymakers, opinion-makers, academics, and journalists write for and read the Quarterly, which is known for exclusive interviews, in-depth historical articles, and book reviews on subjects ranging from archaeology to politics and on countries from Morocco to Iran.
Summer 2026 Volume 33: Number 3
Summer 2026 Volume 33: Number 3
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Secretary Kennedy Confirms Review That Could Bar the Hamas-Aligned Group from All Federal Funding for a Decade -
A Cross-Spectrum Coalition Backs Rep. Chip Roy’s H.R. 8236, Citing Condemnation of CAIR That Runs from Republican Governors to Democratic Attorneys General -
The Middle East Forum Stands by Its Mission and Will Not Be Intimidated -
Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Hearing, Co-Chaired by Reps. Christopher H. Smith and James P. McGovern, Examines Whether Turkey Can Reverse Its Democratic Backsliding
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One Can Look to past Conflicts for Evidence That It Is Possible to Move from Victimization Towards a Constructive Future -
The Obstacle to Peace Between Israel and Lebanon Is an Armed Non-State Militia Actor—Hezbollah—That Pledges Allegiance to Iran and That Wants to Stay Dominant in Lebanon -
There Is an Anti-Islamophobic Expression Movement Which Holds That Little, If Any, Criticism of Islam and Its Adherents Should Be Permitted
Middle East Forum Observer
Founded in 2024, the Observer provides rapid analysis on leading Middle East developments, from Marrakech to Mashhad and the Bab el-Mandeb to the Black Sea.
Launched in 2006, Islamist Watch is a project of the Middle East Forum. We work to combat the ideas and institutions of lawful Islamism in the United States and throughout the West. Arguing that “radical Islam is the problem, moderate Islam is the solution,” we seek to expose the Islamist organizations that currently dominate the debate, while identifying and promoting the work of moderate Muslims.
CAMPUS WATCH, a project of the Middle East Forum, reviews and critiques Middle East studies in North America with an aim to improving them. The project mainly addresses five problems: analytical failures, the mixing of politics with scholarship, intolerance of alternative views, apologetics, and the abuse of power over students. Campus Watch fully respects the freedom of speech of those it debates while insisting on its own freedom to comment on their words and deeds.
Antisemitism
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European Jews Are Abandoning Multiculturalism—Which Doesn’t Include Them—for Israel -
Both the Anti-Zionist Left and the Isolationist Right Are Undermining a Strategic Alliance -
With Spain’s Government Collapsing Under Documented Corruption, Prosecutors Need the Relevant Intelligence -
The Middle East Quarterly, MEF’s Journal Intended for Both Scholars and the Educated Public, Features Historical Articles and Book Reviews on Subjects Ranging From Archaeology to Politics
Gaza
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Egypt’s Refusal to Confront Hamas Exposes the Gaza Stabilization Force’s Fatal Mandate Problem -
Washington’s Strategic Dependence on Cairo Has Turned IMF Reform Into Political Theater -
Israeli Actions Generate Immediate Debate, but Comparable Institutional Urgency Rarely Applies to Hamas’s Rule over Gaza -
Israel Could Indulge in a Sociological Experiment: Open the Ports and Gates, Transfer the Volunteers Onto the Beach of Gaza City, and Watch
Islam
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Scholars Question Whether AI Can Properly Interpret Islamic Law and Governments Question Whether They Can Deliver Credible Responses -
If Recognizing Israel Were Incompatible with Islamic Governance, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Would Be Missing Half Its Members -
Ankara Often Links Identity, Religion, and Diaspora Communities to Foreign Policy, Presenting Itself as a Protector
Muslims in the US
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Supporter Calls on IRUSA to Register as ‘Church’ to Avoid Government Scrutiny -
Dearborn and the Surrounding Communities Act as a Base of Support for the Decades-Long Propaganda War Against the Jewish Diaspora in America -
Group that Affirmed Hamas’s October 7 Attack Defends Terrorists in India -
Are Al-Sadri ‘Guest Houses’ Recruiting Grounds for Foreign Militia?
