About
The Middle East Forum Observer

The Middle East Forum Observer was founded in 2024 and provides rapid analysis on leading Middle East developments, from Marrakech to Mashhad and the Bab el-Mandeb to the Black Sea.

More than just an outlet for opinion and opeds, the Observer explores topics in greater depth than American newspapers or opinion essays, often drawing upon primary language research or technical expertise on topics like shipping, aircraft leasing, or counter-terrorism finance. Policymakers and intelligence analysts not only in the United States and Europe, but also across the Middle East regularly read Observer articles. Newspapers and policy journals from Israel to Iran excerpt and debate the Observer’s takes.

As with the Middle East Quarterly, Middle East Forum Observer is open access. All content is available without charge. The Middle East Forum Observer allows reposts of its articles as an integral whole with a citation that includes author, date, title, publication and original URL.

More from MEF
The Islamic Republic is believed to have substantially reduced its timeline to produce nuclear weapons.
Middle East Forum Observer
Khamenei Confirms: A Nuclear Breakout Is a Purely Political, Not Religious, Decision
More and More, Iran’s Leadership Endorses the Idea and to Believe They Would Hesitate to Build a Nuclear Bomb Is Naïve
March 24, 2025
 · 
Wahied Wahdat-Hagh
Lord Wajid Khan kissed the ring of a Deobandi extremist during the imam’s visit to Khan’s Burnley constituency in late February.
FWI News
U.K. Faith Minister Kowtows Before Fundamentalist Pakistani Cleric
Lord Wajid Khan Kisses Ring of Deobandi Extremist
March 21, 2025
 · 
Hannah Baldock
A picture of Georgetown academic Badar Khan Suri (far right) celebrating with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (left).
FWI News
Georgetown Condemns Trump ‘McCarthyism,’ Defends Son-in-Law of Hamas Leader
Another Instance of Contempt for the U.S. from Higher Education?
March 21, 2025
 · 
Anna Stanley
The newly appointed interim chairman of the board of the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills, OFSTED, the United Kingdom’s educational standards office, has a history of extremist ties.
Middle East Forum Online
New U.K. Education Leader Has a Troubling History of Extremist Ties
In Schools Under Sir Hamid Patel’s Purview, Staff Have Said That Homosexuals Should Be ‘Stoned to Death’ and That Clapping and Whistling Are ‘Satanic’
March 20, 2025
 · 
Anna Stanley
An angry mob threatened to kill a Christian preacher when they heard him preaching against Islam in Walsall town center in the West Midlands, England, on January 14, 2023. The preacher was charged with blasphemy. A judge threw out the chargers earlier this month.
FWI News
U.K. Court Acquits Christian Preacher Accused of ‘Blaspheming’ Islam
Judgment Critical as U.K. Parliament Considers ‘Islamophobia’ Definition
March 20, 2025
 · 
Jules Gomes
Press Releases
Hamas-Linked Georgetown Academic Faces Deportation Following MEF Report
Badar Khan Suri, a Fellow at Georgetown University’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Has Been Arrested and Faces Deportation Proceedings
March 19, 2025
Ahmed al-Sharaa, who was previously known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, led Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaeda affiliate, before rebranding it as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
Middle East Forum Online
New Syrian Leader Remains Security Threat Despite Rebranding
Despite Now Positioning Himself as a Statesman, in an Interview Ayoub Argued That Sharaa’s past Cannot Be Ignored
March 19, 2025
 · 
Amine Ayoub
If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sits back and lets Trump lead, Iran might accept the president’s invitation to talk, forcing a confrontation between Netanyahu and Trump.
Middle East Forum Online
Hamas Squandered the Few Chances It Had Left. Will Netanyahu Do the Same?
Will Israel Now Pursue a Clear Plan for Victory?
March 19, 2025
 · 
Lazar Berman
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, seen here making the pro-Muslim Brotherhood Rabia sign in 2017, had Turkish security forces arrest Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on March 19, 2025.
Middle East Forum Online
Arrest Erdoğan
What Is Most Remarkable Is Not That Erdoğan Kneecaps Rivals, but Rather International Institutions Allow Him to Get Away with It
March 19, 2025
 · 
Michael Rubin
Beneath Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s neo-Ottomanist ambitions lies a deeper objective: the formation of a new ideological bloc that merges Islamism and leftist anti-liberalism to counter the evolving Middle Eastern order.
Middle East Forum Online
The U.S. Should Thwart Turkey’s Drive to Forge an Islamic-Leftist Bloc
If Washington Fails to Act Decisively, Erdoğan May Succeed in Reshaping the Region’s Ideological and Geopolitical Landscape in Unprecedented Ways
March 19, 2025
 · 
Loqman Radpey