To Undermine the Kurds, Al-Sharaa Has Sought to Assert Greater Control over Their Political Representation
The University Is Preparing to Hire Yet Another Credentialed, Israel-Hating, BDS Activist for a Very High-Profile Job
Saddam Haftar and the Libyan National Army Provide Security for the Oil Fields, Their Transport, and Their Export
One Month in, America’s Analysts Are Offering a Rearview Mirror. The Iran War Needs a Roadmap
Libyan Oil Should Belong to Libyans, Not Benefit Turkish Businessmen, Swiss Bankers, or Extremists
Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi’s Field Reports on Kurdish Displacement, Minority Rights Are Already Shaping Policy Debate
The Regime Is Worried About Another Uprising After the War and Cannot Trust Its Own Forces to Get the Job Done
As the Conflict Between Israel and Hezbollah Continues, the Lebanese Have Made It Clear This Battle Is Not Theirs
Mahfouz Had Originally Intended to Become a Philosopher. That He Became a Novelist Instead Was, for the Arabic Language, an Extraordinary Stroke of Fortune
The Abraham Accords Laid the Groundwork, but the Current War Has Forged the True Alliance, as Iran Attacks Gulf Cooperation Council States
Both Countries Play Roles That Protect Tehran Diplomatically and Support Aspects of Its Military Effort
Oil Storage and Fuel Infrastructure Have Sustained Damage, with No Short-Term Outlook for Restoring Exports to Pre-Conflict Levels
The Small Baltic Nation Understands the Battlefield in a Way the European Union Never Will
While Hezbollah Appears Unable to Prevent the Movement of the IDF on the Ground in Lebanon, It Is Succeeding in Launching Large Amounts of Ordnance at Israel from Further North
Spotlight on War with Iran
A ceasefire is in effect, somewhat. Negotiations are starting soon in Pakistan about a full deal. There seem to be many obstacles to fulfilling the announced goals of the United States as the Iranians are circulating an entirely different plan.

The Strait of Hormuz was opened and then closed. Israel hit Hezbollah very hard the day after the ceasefire was announced. The future is very uncertain but the bombing has stopped and the talks will begin. MEF fellows and experts weigh in on all of this.
As unrest spreads across Iran, the regime and the opposition both face narrowing choices.
Tehran Appears to Be Moving Toward Conditional Access, While Retaining the Ability to Disrupt Maritime Traffic
The Abrupt Announcement of a Two-Week Ceasefire in the War Between the U.S., Israel, and Iran Resolves None of the Issues Which Caused the Conflict
The Tactical Triumph and Strategic Uncertainty of Operation Epic Fury
While Legal Scholars Seek to Promote and Reinforce International Humanitarian Law, Their Subjectivity and Political Agendas Now Undermine It
The Iranian News Media Have Not Fully Reported the Reverberation of the War on the Iranian Economy
Spotlight on the Middle East
The entire region is affected by the conflict with Iran, but there are many other vital issues being covered by MEF. Political change in Iraq, Corruption in Turkey, and Islamists exerting their influence online and politically.

India and the UAE are deepening ties and tough words from Israel’s Chief Rabbinate to the Pope. The war has caused many problems for security and commerce, but it has also created opportunities. These issues and more are getting the attention of Middle East Forum authors.
Iraq’s Crisis Is a Problem of Not Only Armed Factions but Also the Political Order That Preserved and Protected Them
Group that Affirmed Hamas’s October 7 Attack Defends Terrorists in India
Experts Warn of Radicalization Persisting at ‘Precariously High Levels’
Vatican Maintains Formal Ties with Top Iranian University Despite Theocratic Regime’s Massacre of Thousands
The Emirates Remains a Stabilizing Actor with Strong Ties to Israel, the United States, and Other Key Regional Players
Explosive Claims Point to Coordinated Pressure Campaign Targeting Wealthy Individuals
Middle East Quarterly - Current Issue
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.


Spring 2026 Volume 33: Number 2
  1. RSSI Aims to Mobilize U.S. Policymakers, Global Shipping Leaders, and International Stakeholders to Address This Vital Issue
  2. The Moment Has Come for the U.S. and Israel to Take Decisive Military Action Against Iran’s Nuclear Forces
  3. Testimony Uncovers $122 Million to Entities Tied to Hamas, Hezbollah, and Al-Qaeda Affiliates
  4. Testimony to Uncover $122 Million Funneled to Radical and Terror-Tied Organizations
  1. The Founding Fathers Wrote Their Words in the Milieu of the Judeo-Christian Biblical Heritage That Bound the Nation as One
  2. Israel’s ‘War of Necessity’ Was Launched amid the National Trauma of October 7
  3. The Evangelical Emphasis on the Bible as a ‘Central Organizing Principle’ and Its Practice of Proselytizing Clash with Islam
  4. After Israel Launched Its Attack Against the Mullahs, the ‘Resistance’ Remained Sidelined
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
  1. With Trump’s Executive Order, America Has Allied Itself Not with a Partner for Peace, but an Agent for Instability
  2. Lawsuit Opening Salvo Against Funders of Extremism?
  3. Catholic Clergy Make Ill-Founded Accusations of Genocide Against Israel, While Promoting Conditions That Would Guarantee Israeli Genocide
  4. There Is Not Much Freedom of Speech in Gaza, and Europe Is Not Doing Much Better
Gaza
  1. A Significant Difference Between the Position of Israel and That of Its Chief Ally, the United States, on the Way Forward Is Emerging
  2. Across Israel’s Southern and Western Peripheries, a Slow-Motion Catastrophe Is Taking Shape
  3. It Is the Only Rational Posture for a Country That Has Been Fighting an Existential Ideological War with Hamas for Decades
  4. Over the Years, Erdoğan Hosted Hamas, Providing Diplomatic Cover for Its Leadership
Islam
  1. Last Year’s Sequence of Events Has Substantially Shifted the Strategic Balance of the Region
  2. ISIS’s January 2024 Call to Random Violence Explains the Deadly Logic Behind Recent Vehicular Terror Attacks in New Orleans and Germany.
Muslims in the US
  1. A Joint Podcast Series by the Middle East Forum and the American Jewish University
  2. If Some Two Million ‘Got-Aways’ Crossed Since 2021, Suspected Terrorists on the FBI Watch List Are Almost Certainly Among Them
  3. I recently witnessed something I haven’t seen in a long time. On Friday, August 16, 2024, a group of pro-Hamas activists packed up their signs and went home in the face of spirited and non-violent opposition from a coalition of pro-American Iranians and American Jews. The last time I saw anything like that happen was in 2006 or 2007, when I led a crowd of Israel supporters in chants in order to silence a heckler standing on the sidewalk near the town common in Amherst, Massachusetts. The ridicule was enough to prompt him and his fellow anti-Israel activists to walk away, as we cheered their departure. It was glorious.