The Azerbaijani Exclave’s Geography Allows Iran to Demonstrate Military Reach While Minimizing the Risk of Direct Confrontation
Many Kurdish Political Movements View a U.S. Partnership as Aligned with the Goal of Democratic Governance, but It Has Risks
Iran Targeted the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait Within Hours, Pointing to a Pre-Planned Regional Operation
A Dispatch from a Sealed Room in Israel on the Necessary, Terrible Cost of Ending the Iranian Regime
The Case for Investing in Iranian Civil Society Alongside Military Replenishment
Another Massive Post-Liberal Adjustment in Which the U.S. Is Sidelining Systems That No Longer Function as They Should
The Longer This Interim Phase Continues, the More It Will Shape the Iran That Emerges After Both the War and Khamenei
The Brighter Horizons Academy in North Texas Was Established and Run by Figures Involved with Convicted Hamas Operatives and Designated Terror Organizations; Uses Curricula Developed In-House that Teaches Children to Hate
The Strait of Hormuz Carries Roughly 20 Percent of Global Liquefied Natural Gas Trade and a Similar Share of Seaborne Oil
At Their Essence, War Aims Define What the Government Wants to Achieve Within the Bounds of What It Believes Its Military Can Accomplish
An Al-Naba’ Editorial Urges Sunnis To Reject Tehran, Washington, And Israel Alike
History Suggests Kurdish Militancy Inside Iran Could Strengthen Tehran Rather Than Weaken It.
The Claim That the American–Israeli Strikes on Iran Are Illegal Collapses Under Any Basic Reading of International Law
Undercover Report Shows Imam Endorsing Marriage of Nine-Year-Old Girls
Residents report intense bombing as missile launches decline and Iranian forces scramble to reorganize inside the capital.
Spotlight on War with Iran
The Iranian Navy and Air Force are effectively non-existent. The new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen since the start of the war. Basij checkpoints are being attacked by drones.
But the Islamic Republic is far from finished. The Strait of Hormuz has seen tankers attacked and oil flow is critical. What is the path to an end that is worth the dangers? MEF fellows and experts weigh in on all of this.
But the Islamic Republic is far from finished. The Strait of Hormuz has seen tankers attacked and oil flow is critical. What is the path to an end that is worth the dangers? MEF fellows and experts weigh in on all of this.
As unrest spreads across Iran, the regime and the opposition both face narrowing choices.
Iran’s Kurdish Armed Groups Remain Too Fragmented, Cautious and Constrained to Shape the War’s Outcome.
Sustained Strikes and the Removal of Senior Islamic Republic Figures Raise Questions About the Regime’s Durability
An Operational Concept for Reopening the Strait of Hormuz Without a Ground Campaign
Classical Strategy and the Path from Air Campaign to Iranian Liberation
Spotlight on the Middle East
The entire region is affected by the conflict with Iran, but there are many other vital issues being covered by MEF. New alliances are growing in the Eastern Mediterranean, Syrian in-fighting cools down and let’s not forget North Africa.
The turmoil makes predictions perilous, but it also presents opportunities for change. Will the conflict with Iran create the conditions for broader peace and prosperity?
The turmoil makes predictions perilous, but it also presents opportunities for change. Will the conflict with Iran create the conditions for broader peace and prosperity?
Cairo’s Regional Security No Longer Depends on Gulf Symbolism but on Eastern Mediterranean Energy Alignment
Behind Official Merger Language, Kobani Still Operates Under Kurdish Security Control
Iran’s Proxy Strategy Has Expanded Beyond the Levant and Now Threatens North Africa’s Strategic Balance
The Sánchez Regime Has Made Hostility to Jerusalem Its Policy and Israel Should Impose Consequences
When Turkish Networks Move Money, Weapons, People and Narcotics Across Borders, They Export Not Only Violence but Also the Institutional Weaknesses and Culture of Impunity
Middle East Quarterly - Current Issue
Founded in 1994 by Daniel Pipes, MEQ is the Middle East Forum’s journal intended for both scholars and the educated public. Policymakers, opinion-makers, academics, and journalists write for and read the Quarterly, which is known for exclusive interviews, in-depth historical articles, and book reviews on subjects ranging from archaeology to politics and on countries from Morocco to Iran.
Spring 2026 Volume 33: Number 2
Spring 2026 Volume 33: Number 2
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In November 2023 the Houthis Attacked Global Shipping Passing Through the Red Sea Trade Routes and the Gulf of Aden -
$164 Million of Taxpayer Funds Have Gone to Radical Islamist Groups, Including $122 Million to Organizations Aligned with Terrorist Organizations -
A Key Lesson from the IDF’s Collapse on Oct. 7 Is the Shortsightedness of Any Western Military That Invests Heavily in Technology at the Expense of Conventional Armed Forces -
There Has Been a Marked Change in Muslim-Majority Countries—in Keeping with the Rest of the World—Namely ‘A Huge Plunge in Fertility’
Middle East Forum Observer
Founded in 2024, the Observer provides rapid analysis on leading Middle East developments, from Marrakech to Mashhad and the Bab el-Mandeb to the Black Sea.
Launched in 2006, Islamist Watch is a project of the Middle East Forum. We work to combat the ideas and institutions of lawful Islamism in the United States and throughout the West. Arguing that “radical Islam is the problem, moderate Islam is the solution,” we seek to expose the Islamist organizations that currently dominate the debate, while identifying and promoting the work of moderate Muslims.
CAMPUS WATCH, a project of the Middle East Forum, reviews and critiques Middle East studies in North America with an aim to improving them. The project mainly addresses five problems: analytical failures, the mixing of politics with scholarship, intolerance of alternative views, apologetics, and the abuse of power over students. Campus Watch fully respects the freedom of speech of those it debates while insisting on its own freedom to comment on their words and deeds.
Antisemitism
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In Southwestern Baden-Württemberg, a Shi’ite Terrorism Problem Is Spiraling Out of Control and the Threat Is Real -
The Prophet Muhammad Expropriated Jewish Property to Consolidate Power and Build the First Islamic State -
The Hearing Presented a Bipartisan Display of the Growing Frustration of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Increasing Authoritarianism -
Canberra’s Indulgence of the Fringe Left Regarding Israel Increasingly Makes Australia a Liability for the United States
Gaza
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The Path to Implementing the 20-Point Peace Plan Remains Strewn with Obstacles -
From Assad’s Palace Perched on Mount Mezzeh, He Could See East Ghouta, a Sprawling Suburb of Multistory Apartment Buildings, and a Slum Which More than a Million Sunni Arabs Called Home -
The Real Opportunity Lies in Engaging Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Other Arab and Muslim Nations Open to Reconciliation with Israel and the West
Islam
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Leading Iranian regime operatives played a key role organizing student anti-Israel protests, an investigation by FWI reveals.
In early July, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence alleged that “Iranian government actors have sought to opportunistically take advantage of ongoing protests regarding the war in Gaza ... We have observed actors tied to Iran’s government posing as activists online, seeking to encourage protests, and even providing financial support to protesters.”
