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
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
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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More from MEF
The United Kingdom, France, and Germany announced on August 28, 2025, that they would begin restoring United Nations sanctions on Iran.
Middle East Forum Observer
Despite Iranian Denials, U.N. Sanctions Snapback Will Hit Economy Hard
European Union Sanctions—Covering Oil and Petrochemical Equipment, Banking, Transport, and Insurance—Also Would Be Restored
September 29, 2025
 · 
Dalga Khatinoglu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Middle East Forum Observer
Netanyahu’s Supreme Court Reform Is a Democratic Correction
His Reforms Would Introduce Accountability to a Judicial System That Critics Say Has Operated as a Bastion of Unaccountable Elites for Decades
September 29, 2025
 · 
Walter E. Block
The flag of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on a mountain in Northern Cyprus, which Turkey occupies.
Middle East Forum Observer
How Should Washington Respond to Hostage Diplomacy in Cyprus?
If the United States Holds Turkey Accountable, It Nips in the Bud Turkey’s Use of Detention as a Political Weapon
September 28, 2025
 · 
Nicoletta Kouroushi
Even as Syrian President Ahmed Sharaa is fêted at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Syria remains divided, with the Sunni Islamist central government unable to reconcile or provide security and exclusive governance to the country’s large non-Sunni and non-Arab minorities; in New York City on September 26, 2025.
Middle East Forum Online
Syria’s Fragile Peace: Will Sharaa Be Able to Keep Quiet in His Country?
September 27, 2025
 · 
Jonathan Spyer
There will never be enough bulletproof vests for all dissenters. Either we go on the offensive and win this cultural war today, or no one will be safe tomorrow.
Middle East Forum Online
The West Is Now a War Zone Where a Bulletproof Vest Is Required to Speak
September 27, 2025
 · 
Giulio Meotti
Winfield Myers
Middle East Forum Observer
The Red-Green Alliance’s Weaponization of ‘Palestinianism’ Threatens All Democracies
Islamist Extremism and Violence Is Not Only a Foreign Policy Challenge—It Is Also a Domestic Security Crisis
September 27, 2025
 · 
Yuval David
The Middle East today is what happens when there is no hegemon, no perceived final arbiter. The strong countries—Israel, Iran and Turkey—are in open competition.
Middle East Forum Online
The Middle East’s Power Game: Nations Hedge Bets in Volatile, Shifting Landscape
The Main Strategic Result of the Gaza War So Far Has Been the Drastic Weakening of the Iran-Led Bloc
September 26, 2025
 · 
Jonathan Spyer
The Israeli navy.
Middle East Forum Observer
The Twelve-Mile Tripwire: How a Gaza Flotilla Escort Courts Disaster
Italy and Spain Should Direct Their Warships to Halt Escort Operations Inside Israel’s Territorial Sea
September 26, 2025
 · 
Gregg Roman
Silhouettes of President Donald Trump and Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Middle East Forum Observer
Kill Mojtaba
Khamenei’s Second Son Controls Access to His Father and Manages the Supreme Leader’s Multibillion-Dollar Business Empire
September 26, 2025
 · 
Michael Rubin
Pope Leo XIV in May 2025.
Middle East Forum Observer
Will Polemics and Antisemitism Turn the Vatican Against Israel?
Catholic Clergy Make Ill-Founded Accusations of Genocide Against Israel, While Promoting Conditions That Would Guarantee Israeli Genocide
September 26, 2025
 · 
Jules Gomes