MEF Wires

Middle East Forum Wires are summary accounts and audio recordings of MEF speaking events.

Wires are written by MEF staff and (when summary accounts) are generally not reviewed by the speaker.

To see a listing of forthcoming MEF events, please click here.

Audio, Video and Transcripts
Gregg Roman Testifies Before the Knesset on the Cost of Redeeming Hostages
The Mishnah Warns Against Redeeming Captives at Exorbitant Prices—Not from Callousness, but from Wisdom
December 24, 2025
Audio, Video and Transcripts
Eastern Mediterranean Contributions to Middle East Security
The Middle East Forum participated in a high-level panel on “Eastern Mediterranean Contributions to Middle East Security” at the Delphi Economic Forum in Greece.
April 18, 2025
Audio, Video and Transcripts
The Middle East: Harris and Trump Policies Explained
November 4, 2024
 · 
Ahnaf Kalam
Fluttering Israel flag on crimson red sky with smoke pillars background. Israel problems concept.
Audio, Video and Transcripts
Israel’s Crucible: Forging a New Security Paradigm
Navigating Complex Threats from Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, and Beyond in a Shifting Middle East Landscape
October 6, 2024
 · 
Gregg Roman
Winfield Myers
Audio, Video and Transcripts
The Challenges of Countering Islamism in the West
May 17, 2023
 · 
Sam Westrop
Winfield Myers
Audio, Video and Transcripts
Salvaging Our Universities in an Era of Intellectual Decadence
May 17, 2023
 · 
Winfield Myers
More from MEF
Pakistani generals have never fully accounted for how they came to shelter al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden just a stone’s throw from Pakistan’s equivalent of West Point. Above: President Donald Trump meets with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (L) and Field Marshal Asim Munir of Pakistan.
Middle East Forum Online
Duplicitous Allies Deserve Trump’s Scrutiny
Among Diplomats and Analysts, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar’s Double Game Is Well-Known
September 4, 2026
 · 
Michael Rubin
Russian multiple launch Rocket System (MLRS) Tornado-S model on Tverskaya Street in Moscow; April 30, 2021, Moscow.
Middle East Forum Online
The European Iron Dome
In the Space of a Week, Three Key NATO Countries Have Turned to Israel for Protection
September 4, 2026
 · 
Giulio Meotti
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (L) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during the European Political Community summit in Prague; Oct. 6, 2022.
Middle East Forum Online
Armenian Court Files Confirm Turkey’s Pipeline for Deploying Jihadists to Foreign Wars
Court Documents Show How Men Recruited from Turkish-Backed Armed Factions Were Moved Across Turkey and Deployed to Azerbaijan
September 4, 2026
 · 
Abdullah Bozkurt
The operational mechanics of this proxy architecture rely on low-cost, contract-style execution. Handler networks linked to Iranian intelligence recruit local operatives, often disaffected youth or petty criminals, using encrypted messaging channels to conduct low-tech attacks in exchange for financial payments. Plausible deniability is built directly into the operational design.
Middle East Forum Online
The Front Line Is Everywhere: Why Europe Must Dismantle Tehran’s Hybrid Terror Network
Iran-Linked Networks Have Exploited Open Borders, Civil Liberties, and Gaps in Counter-Terrorism Coordination to Establish Cells Across the Continent
September 4, 2026
 · 
Amine Ayoub
Expect schoolteachers, media pundits, and elected leaders speechifying at the New York memorial (think New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani) to pretzel-twist themselves around ever saying aloud that a religious motive rooted in Islamist ideology drove the 9/11 hijackers to that mass murder—and still does.
Middle East Forum Online
Many Will Excise the Lesson of 9/11 from National Memory: Islamist Ideology Still Motivates Mass Murder
As America Prepares to Memorialize the 25 Anniversary of the 9/11 Attacks, Expect a Glaring Omission in the Upcoming Speeches, Editorials, and Televised Retrospectives
September 4, 2026
 · 
Todd Bensman
European Parliament in Strasbourg expels FEMYSO, the Muslim Brotherhood-linked youth network, after 33 MEPs warned of its Islamist ties and threat to European values.
FWI News
European Union Supporting Muslim Brotherhood Youth Event on ‘Islamophobia’
EU Makes U-Turn After Parliament Expelled Islamist Youth Organization
September 4, 2026
 · 
Jules Gomes
A yacht sails the waters of the Persian Gulf in May 2025, with the distant skyline of Doha, Qatar, faintly visible.
Middle East Forum Observer
Before the ‘Gulf of America’ There Was the ‘Arabian Gulf’
Changing the Name of Lake Ontario Is Ahistorical, but So Was the Change from ‘Persian Gulf’ That Predated Trump
September 4, 2026
 · 
Michael Rubin
A flag of Bahrain flutters on a traditional dhow, as Manama's modern buildings create a dynamic cityscape backdrop.
Middle East Forum Observer
Is Bahrain the Weakest Gulf Cooperation Council Link in the Regional War?
Unlike Its Bigger Neighbors, Bahrain Has Little Strategic Depth to Absorb a Military Shock
September 4, 2026
 · 
Radhika Lakshminarayanan
A sea turtle in the Mediterranean Sea in North Cyprus.
Middle East Forum Observer
Could Turkey Start a War Over the Greece-Cyprus Great Sea Interconnector?
The European Union Has Termed the $2.2 Billion, 750-Mile Interconnector Among Its European Projects of Common Interest
September 4, 2026
 · 
Christos Konstantinidis
Maryam Abu-Hasaballah, a recent graduate of the University of Connecticut, wrote an honors thesis about the protests at the schools main campus in Storrs, Connecticut. In her thesis, published in 2025, Abu-Hasaballah accused UConn president Radenka Maric of using campus police to deprive the post-Oct. 7 protesters of their right to free speech because of a pro-Israel bias and personal ties to the Jewish state. As it turns out, Abu-Hassaballah has alleged family ties to a Hamas fighter who was killed by Israel after he participated in the October 7 attack.
FWI News
Massachusetts Suburb Hires Anti-Zionist With Alleged Family Ties to Hamas Fighter to Teach Social Studies
UConn Grad Wrote Honors Thesis About Post-October 7 Protests—Without Mentioning Massacre
September 3, 2026
 · 
Dexter Van Zile