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 Counter-Erdoğan Coalition: Taking on Turkey’s Strongman
May 17, 2023
Winfield Myers
Audio, Video and Transcripts
Salvaging Our Universities in an Era of Intellectual Decadence
May 17, 2023
 · 
Winfield Myers
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Thousands of Iranian protesters have paid for their demands for freedom with their lives, yet U.S.-based Islamist advocacy groups that loudly condemn American actions abroad have largely refused to confront the Islamic Republic’s mass killings and repression.
FWI Research
U.S.-Based Islamist Organizations Ignore Killings in Iran, Condemn America
Islamist Orgs Say Nothing While Iranian Protesters Sacrifice Their Lives
February 2, 2026
 · 
Noah Sandler
President Donald Trump at the White House in April 2025.
Middle East Forum Observer
Fears Grow Among Iranians as U.S. Weighs Talks with Tehran
No Official Details Have Emerged About Washington’s Minimum Demands If Talks Proceed
February 2, 2026
 · 
Mardo Soghom
A panoramic view of Pigadia Bay, Karpathos Island, Greece.
Middle East Forum Observer
No Strategic Convergence in the Greece-Turkey Dialogue
The Stakes Are High for the United States, Which Seeks to Maintain Cohesion Among Regional Partners and Avoid Escalation Between Allies
February 2, 2026
 · 
Nicoletta Kouroushi
If the Saudi pivot is a strategy, the Red Sea littoral is its primary theater of application; if the Abraham Accords represented a vision of an integrated regional order anchored in normalization and infrastructure interdependence, the Red Sea is where that vision encounters the structural obstacles to its realization.
Middle East Forum Online
Contested Order: The Structure of End-State Competition in the Red Sea
February 1, 2026
 · 
Hussein Aboubakr Mansour
By allowing or facilitating the movement of radical elements toward the coast, unstable regimes in North Africa and the Levant gain a powerful bargaining chip against Europe. Their message is clear: “Fund our reconstruction and legitimize our rule, or the next boat to Lampedusa will carry more than just economic migrants.” Image: Iron boat used by migrants smugglers to arrive on the island of Lampedusa, Italy.
Middle East Forum Online
How Post-Assad Chaos and North African Smugglers Collide
The Diplomatic Veneer of the ‘New Syria’ Began to Crack, Revealing a Security Nightmare That the West Has Spent a Decade Trying to Prevent
February 1, 2026
 · 
Amine Ayoub
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei reportedly has been in hiding since Israel's airstrikes began in June 2025.
Middle East Forum Observer
Khamenei Raises Specter of Regional War Amid Unrest at Home
Reports Indicated That Tehran May Be Willing to Give up Its Stockpile of Enriched Uranium to Prevent a U.S. Attack
February 1, 2026
 · 
Mardo Soghom
Saudia Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Middle East Forum Observer
If Saudi Arabia Flips to the ‘Axis of Ikhwan,’ What Happens to Qatar?
While Saudi Arabia Outlaws the Muslim Brotherhood at Home, Mohammed Bin Salman Empowers It Abroad
February 1, 2026
 · 
Michael Rubin
A file photo of Syrian refugees in Kobane, a Kurdish-majority city.
Middle East Forum Observer
The Newest Deal Between Syria and the Kurds Is Not Sustainable
The Agreement’s Ambiguity Leaves Room for Multiple Interpretations, Which Could Affect Its Implementation
February 1, 2026
 · 
Sirwan Kajjo
A terrorism investigation launched into Musa Abu Jafar in 2011 on allegations of al-Qaeda membership was quietly shelved in 2014 by the Islamist government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, after senior police chiefs and prosecutors involved in the case were removed from their posts. Image: Flag of Al-Qaeda
Middle East Forum Online
Al-Qaeda–Linked Cleric Operates from Idlib Under Protection of Turkish Intelligence Agency
Musa Abu Jafar Is a Salafist Cleric Who Has Long Promoted Jihadist Causes Across Multiple Countries
January 31, 2026
 · 
Abdullah Bozkurt
A supercomputer in a data center.
Middle East Forum Observer
Cyprus and U.S. Technology Cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean
An Agreement with Nvidia for a Computing System Reflects a Broader Trend of Deepening U.S.-Cyprus Technology Alignment
January 31, 2026
 · 
Nicoletta Kouroushi