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
Hossein Taeb (left front) is commander of the Basij paramilitary unit and former head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Intelligence Organization.
Middle East Forum Observer
Iran’s Military Reshuffle Reflects the Regime’s Narrowing Pool of Trusted Officials
Six Appointments Show an Architecture Built Around Institutional Memory, Loyalty, and Coercive Power Is Taking Place
August 15, 2026
 · 
Erfan Fard
Christians from the United States admire anti-Israel propaganda displayed at the Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem as part of a "peacemaking" conference organized by Bethlehem Bible College in 2018. The Kairos II document is targeted at Christians like these and the churches to which they belong.
Dhimmitude Project
The Captured Testimony of Kairos Palestine II
“Peacemaking” Document Invites Western Churches to Abet the Restoration of Dhimmitude in the Levant.
August 14, 2026
 · 
Mark Durie
When a local pastor condemned officials for naming a busy intersection after Hezbollah-supporter Osama Siblani in September 2025, Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud (above in 2024) called the pastor “an Islamophobe,” declaring: “I want you to know as mayor, you are not welcome here. And the day you move out of the city will be the day that I launch a parade celebrating the fact that you moved out of the city because you are not somebody who believes in coexistence.”
Middle East Forum Online
Dearborn’s Mayor Helps Terrorize Diaspora Jews with Genocide Lie
One of the Most Troubling Threats to Civil Society in the United States Is the Propagation of the False Accusation of Genocide Against Israel
August 14, 2026
 · 
Dexter Van Zile
A telecommunications tower.
Middle East Forum Observer
Can Iran’s Strategic Capture of Iraq’s Telecommunications be Reversed?
Tehran’s Cyber Strategy Partially Relies on Externalized Digital Logistics Bases
August 14, 2026
 · 
Ali Almrayatee
While every president from President George H.W. Bush to Barack Obama spoke of China as a possible partner rather than a rival and sought to co-opt Beijing, President Donald Trump’s first term left a legacy of establishing a bipartisan consensus that China was an adversary.
Middle East Forum Online
End Major U.S. Non-NATO Ally Status for China’s Cronies
An Increasing Number of Non-NATO Allies Flirt With, If Not Tilt Toward, Beijing
August 13, 2026
 · 
Michael Rubin
Turkey has transferred far-reaching powers over wiretapping, internet access, communications infrastructure, online censorship and digital traffic from the country’s telecommunications regulator to the executive-controlled Cyber Security Presidency.
Middle East Forum Online
Turkey Shifts Wiretapping, Internet-Control Powers to Erdoğan’s Cybersecurity Body
The Move Further Empowers President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Institutionalizes Censorship and Digital Surveillance Under the Guise of National Security
August 13, 2026
 · 
Abdullah Bozkurt
Israeli Air Force F-15 fighters fly in formation over the Mediterranean Sea as seen from a Tel Aviv beach during an Air Show dedicated to Israel's Independence Day; April 15, 2021.
Middle East Forum Online
Mecca Defense Pact Isn’t Meant to Challenge Israel, at Least Not on the Battlefield
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey Aren’t Going to Go to War for Each Other; They Want to Show the U.S. and Iran They Are Ready to Lead in a Region They See as Destabilized by Jerusalem
August 13, 2026
 · 
Lazar Berman
The core of the model should be the removal of Iranian Qods Force Chief Qassem Soleimani. Soleimani believed himself untouchable but, on January 3, 2020, Iranians woke up to the news that an MQ-9 Reaper drone (similar to the one above) firing Hellfire missiles had taken out Qassem Soleimani on the airport road in Baghdad. The regime blustered but ultimately could do nothing.
Middle East Forum Online
Decapitation as Strategy: The Case for Targeting Iran’s Command Structure
The Iranian President, Flag Officers, and Intelligence Chief Should Rise to Their Positions Knowing They Will Have a Lifespan of Weeks, If Not Days
August 13, 2026
 · 
Michael Rubin
Texas A&M University is a public research university in College Station, Texas.
Middle East Forum Observer
Qatar’s Quiet Conquest of the American Classroom
The Emirate Sued to Block Texas from Releasing Texas A&M’s Funding Records Under the State’s Public-Records Law
August 13, 2026
 · 
Hollie McKay
On August 7, 2026, in Mecca, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed a trilateral mutual defense agreement declaring that an armed attack on any one of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, or Pakistan would be treated as an attack on all three.
Middle East Forum Online
Third Time Is the Charm? The Mecca Pact and the Sad History of Collective Defense
The Mecca Pact Is the Third Iteration of a Single Saudi Effort to Assemble a Deterrence Substitute for a Diminished American Security Umbrella
August 12, 2026
 · 
Hussein Aboubakr Mansour