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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A close-up of Iranian banknotes and currency.
Middle East Forum Observer
Iran’s Capital Flight Has Surged 4.5-Fold in Five Years
Access to Foreign Exchange and Import Licenses Remains Heavily Influenced by State Institutions and Semi-State Organizations
June 3, 2026
 · 
Dalga Khatinoglu
Press Releases
Middle East Forum’s Michael Rubin to Testify Before Congress on Turkey’s Authoritarian Crackdown
Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Hearing, Co-Chaired by Reps. Christopher H. Smith and James P. McGovern, Examines Whether Turkey Can Reverse Its Democratic Backsliding
June 3, 2026
The Iraqi Kurdistan Region parliament buildings in Erbil, Iraq.
Middle East Forum Observer
Does Kurdistan Need a National Security Council?
The Kurdistan Region No Longer Can Treat National Security Policy as Ad Hoc and Personality Driven
June 3, 2026
 · 
Frzand Sherko
When French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot rushed to convene an emergency U.N. Security Council session to condemn Israel's military advance toward the Zahrani River, he described the operations as “unacceptable.” Image: Barrot in Paris, March 11, 2025.
Middle East Forum Online
Rescuing Hezbollah: Inside France’s Panic over Israel’s Deepening Incursion
France Has a Particular Investment in the Fiction That Lebanese Sovereignty and Hezbollah’s Military Infrastructure Can Coexist Indefinitely
June 2, 2026
 · 
Amine Ayoub
Under Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, there is no question that Israel hammered Iran and its proxies with its outstretched arm. But the decisive victory that Netanyahu promised continues to evade him. Image: February 5, 2025
Middle East Forum Online
The October 7 Election: Israel Goes to the Polls
Within the Next Five Months, Israelis Will Have a Chance to Deliver Their Verdict on the Present Government’s Performance
June 2, 2026
 · 
Jonathan Spyer
The Ali Center of Houston hosts a procession to mark Ashura, which mourns the death of Imam Hussain, grandson of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad.
Articles by Islamist Watch
Iran’s Texas-Pakistani Network
Tehrik-e-Jafaria, a Terror-Aligned South Asian Khomeinist Network, Operates Openly Across the State
June 2, 2026
 · 
Sam Westrop
The harbor at Limassol, Cyprus.
Middle East Forum Observer
Cyprus, India, and the Emerging Mediterranean-Indo-Pacific Connection
Cyprus Holds Strategic Value for India’s Goal of Moving Its Economic and Political Activities Westward
June 2, 2026
 · 
Nicoletta Kouroushi
The British House of Parliament.
Middle East Forum Observer
Why Has the United Kingdom Not Designated Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as Terrorists?
Iran Recognizes the United Kingdom Is a Weak Link in Western Counter-Terrorism and Leverages That to Tehran’s Advantage
June 2, 2026
 · 
Potkin Azarmehr
A makeshift memorial outside the Bataclan theatre in Paris on December 14, 2015, one month after Islamist terrorists killed 132 people in coordinated attacks across the French capital. Belgian courts have now approved temporary prison leave for Mohamed Bakkali, convicted of helping orchestrate the attacks.
FWI News
Belgium Moves to Free Jihadi Mastermind Behind Paris Mass Killings
Court Grants Furloughs to Islamist Terrorist Who Orchestrated Killing of 132
June 1, 2026
 · 
Jules Gomes
Press Releases
Summer Middle East Quarterly Examines the Ideology Behind Iran’s Drive to Destroy Israel
The Middle East Quarterly, MEF’s Journal Intended for Both Scholars and the Educated Public, Features Historical Articles and Book Reviews on Subjects Ranging From Archaeology to Politics
June 1, 2026