Why the Collapse of Clerical Rule Would Trigger a Struggle Over Power, Not an Instant Transition to Democracy
How a Sweeping New Parties Law Turns Participation Into a Tool of Coercion Ahead of the June 2026 Vote
We May See the Wholesale Destruction of the Forces and the Authority That Paid the Highest Price to Defeat ISIS
The Advance of the Syrian Govt. Forces Has Been Accompanied by Atrocities, Including the Execution of Prisoners and the Abuse and Tormenting of Captured Female Kurdish Fighters
Muslim Prayer Rooms and No Handshakes—Signs of Ideological Capture
What Happens to the Kurds Could Be Akin to the 1995 Srebrenica Massacre, When Serbs Slaughtered 8,000 Bosnians
Globus Relief, Lifting Hands, and the LDS Church Itself Have Handed Millions to Charitable Fronts for Dangerous Islamist Movements
Counter-Islamists Applaud Trump Designation of Muslim Brotherhood Chapters in Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt
Islamist Allies Lament End of Obama-Style Cooperation
Despite a Ceasefire Agreement, Clashing Visions of Central Authority and Kurdish Autonomy Are Driving Escalation in Hasakah and Along the Turkish Border
Iran’s Ruler Will Not Compromise with the United States at the End of His Life, Especially If That Means Accepting Israel’s Existence
Syria Holds an Estimated 2.5 Billion Barrels of Oil and 8.5 Trillion Cubic Feet of Gas but Reserves Do Not Guarantee Recovery
State Centralization Transformed the Waqf Into a Regulatory Instrument That Retained the Name but Lost Its Substance
By Weaponizing Terror Listings to Crush Dissent, Cairo Is Closing Off Peaceful Opposition and Raising the Risk of Regional Spillover
Qatar’s Tentacles Reach Deep into the University to Destroy the Foundations Upon Which It Was Founded
Qatar’s Approach Demonstrates How Foreign Countries Can Shape Scholarship, Faculty Recruitment, and Teaching in Our Universities to Reflect Their Preferences
Spotlight on War with Iran
The ceasefire still technically exists but negotiations seem stalled if not dead in the water. Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz got its first bump as two US-flagged vessels transited on May 3, 2026. President Trump says more will follow.
But Iran has fired on several other civilian tankers and it does not appear likely the war will end without some reignition of hostilities. The blockade has taken a heavy toll on Iran’s economy. The lack of oil revenue paired with the dwindling storage space for oil they pump seems the most potent leverage for any deal. MEF fellows and experts weigh in on all of this.
But Iran has fired on several other civilian tankers and it does not appear likely the war will end without some reignition of hostilities. The blockade has taken a heavy toll on Iran’s economy. The lack of oil revenue paired with the dwindling storage space for oil they pump seems the most potent leverage for any deal. MEF fellows and experts weigh in on all of this.
As unrest spreads across Iran, the regime and the opposition both face narrowing choices.
The Strait’s Closure Disrupts the Flow of More than 20 Percent of the World’s Oil and Gas Supplies
The Choice Facing the U.S. Is to Intensify and Escalate the Pressure, or to Accept a Face-Saving Deal Likely to Leave the Regime’s Regional Project Intact
Iran’s Energy Weakness Could Become Its Strategic Breaking Point
The Lebanese Government Will Not Risk Pushing Hezbollah Into Using Violence Against It by Trying to Disarm It
Spotlight on Oil and Energy
The kinetic action has mostly stopped but the maneuvering for power, which means energy, in the region has gotten even more heated. The oil and natural gas from the Middle East constitutes 25% of the world’s energy supply.
The UAE has left OPEC and may be in a position to increase that percentage and also ease the current supply shortage. The Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al Mandeb Strait have historically been chokepoints. But pipelines are making threats to those less powerful. These issues and more are getting the attention of Middle East Forum authors.
The UAE has left OPEC and may be in a position to increase that percentage and also ease the current supply shortage. The Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al Mandeb Strait have historically been chokepoints. But pipelines are making threats to those less powerful. These issues and more are getting the attention of Middle East Forum authors.
Bitter About Being Caught off Guard by the U.S. Attack on Iran and the End of Its Mediator Role, Oman Now Chooses Iran’s Side
The Most Significant Implication May Be What It Reveals About the Broader Collapse of the Gulf Hedging Architecture
Iranian Authorities Continue to Project Defiance but the Economy Appears to Have Limited Remaining Resilience
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 - 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
Spring 2026 Volume 33: Number 2
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.
