U.S. Africa Command Is Right to Choose Sirte as a Secondary Location
The U.N. Economic and Social Council Has Just Appointed Iran to the Committee for Programme and Coordination
Ayta Ash Shab, Where the 162nd Division Hosted Journalists This Week, Was Once a Stronghold of Hezbollah’s Presence Along the Border
Iran’s Energy Weakness Could Become Its Strategic Breaking Point
Barrack Supports Pragmatic Engagement with Existing Power Structures, Rather than Grassroots Democratic Movements
Several Radical Figures Continue to Promote Hardline, Anti-American Positions That Undercut Diplomatic Signaling
The Regime Deliberately Unravels Nation-States from Within, To Reassemble According to Loyalties That Answer to Tehran
Most Iraqis Were Born After Saddam’s Ouster and Value Clean Governance and Normalcy over Sectarianism
Iran’s Hardliners Have Accused the Negotiating Team of Treason for Reportedly Agreeing to Some U.S. Demands
The United Nations Security Council Adopted a New Resolution This Week Extending and Tightening the International Sanctions Regime on Libya
Either Trump Made Optimistic Assumptions or He Embarrassed Tehran by Claiming What Essentially Amounted to an Iranian Surrender
Armed Movements Reject Disarmament Demands Because Compliance Would Eliminate Their Leverage or Reason for Existence
The Iranian-Backed Militias Sudani Defends Are Parasites Upon the Iraqi Economy and the Country’s Sovereignty
Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz Have Caused Shortages and Surging Prices for Jet Fuel
Veiled Women Shield Islamist Politics From Scrutiny, Recast Critics as Bigots and Misogynists
Spotlight on War with Iran
A ceasefire is in effect, somewhat. Negotiations are starting soon in Pakistan about a full deal. There seem to be many obstacles to fulfilling the announced goals of the United States as the Iranians are circulating an entirely different plan.

The Strait of Hormuz was opened and then closed. Israel hit Hezbollah very hard the day after the ceasefire was announced. The future is very uncertain but the bombing has stopped and the talks will begin. MEF fellows and experts weigh in on all of this.
As unrest spreads across Iran, the regime and the opposition both face narrowing choices.
Tehran Appears to Be Moving Toward Conditional Access, While Retaining the Ability to Disrupt Maritime Traffic
The Abrupt Announcement of a Two-Week Ceasefire in the War Between the U.S., Israel, and Iran Resolves None of the Issues Which Caused the Conflict
The Tactical Triumph and Strategic Uncertainty of Operation Epic Fury
While Legal Scholars Seek to Promote and Reinforce International Humanitarian Law, Their Subjectivity and Political Agendas Now Undermine It
The Iranian News Media Have Not Fully Reported the Reverberation of the War on the Iranian Economy
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. Political change in Iraq, Corruption in Turkey, and Islamists exerting their influence online and politically.

India and the UAE are deepening ties and tough words from Israel’s Chief Rabbinate to the Pope. The war has caused many problems for security and commerce, but it has also created opportunities. These issues and more are getting the attention of Middle East Forum authors.
Iraq’s Crisis Is a Problem of Not Only Armed Factions but Also the Political Order That Preserved and Protected Them
Group that Affirmed Hamas’s October 7 Attack Defends Terrorists in India
Experts Warn of Radicalization Persisting at ‘Precariously High Levels’
Vatican Maintains Formal Ties with Top Iranian University Despite Theocratic Regime’s Massacre of Thousands
The Emirates Remains a Stabilizing Actor with Strong Ties to Israel, the United States, and Other Key Regional Players
Explosive Claims Point to Coordinated Pressure Campaign Targeting Wealthy Individuals
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
  1. New Israel Fund-Backed Initiative, Inserted into U.S. Policy, Created Systematic Loopholes to Shield Anti-Israel Actors from Accountability
  2. House Judiciary Committee cites MEF findings as Texas lawmakers move to investigate Islamist-linked institutions
  3. Lawmakers from Israel, U.S., Greece, and Cyprus Launch Caucus to Strengthen Ties and Contain Ankara
  4. Bipartisan Members of Congress Join Israeli Knesset Members for Virtual Strategy Session on the 3+1 Framework
  1. There Are Two Dominant Views of the Middle East. The Prevailing One Will Determine Whether Western Civilization Survives or Is Eroded from Within
  2. The Draft of a New Palestinian Constitution Has Weaponized the Entire Idea of a Constitution
  3. While Morocco Is Pro-Western and a Signatory to the Abraham Accords, Algeria Is Aligned with Russia, China, and Iran
  4. Once the Regime Is Eliminated, Taking on 1.3 Million Members of the Iranian Regime’s Fighting Forces Is the Riskiest Part of the Endeavor
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
  1. Only a Fool, an Ignoramus, or a Useful Idiot Could Suppose That the Current Wave of Hatred Against Israel and the West Will Stop with the Jews
  2. Expert: False Flag Scenario Ludicrous
  3. From Telegram to European Streets: The Expansion of Iran-Aligned Narratives
  4. Turkuvaz Media Group Promotes Conspiracy Theories Portraying Jews as Criminals, Intelligence Operatives, and Members of a Global Cabal
Gaza
  1. For Decades, the International Community Remained Stubbornly Wedded to a ‘Top-Down’ Fantasy
  2. Reconstruction Talk That Races Ahead of Security Realities Risks Freezing Conflict Rather than Resolving It
  3. When a Centralized Ideological Regime Collapses, the Vacuum Is Never Filled by a Committee of Bureaucrats
  4. Israeli Forces Claim There Are Violations ‘Every Day’
Islam
  1. Religious Labeling Does Not Change Destructive Capacity, but It Changes Perceived Authority
  2. Eighth-Graders Are Told That Moses and Jesus Are ‘Islamic Prophets’ and That Christians Will Be Punished for Believing in the Trinity
  3. State Centralization Transformed the Waqf Into a Regulatory Instrument That Retained the Name but Lost Its Substance
  4. How Islam Severed Itself from the Biblical World That Once Made Its Scripture Intelligible
Muslims in the US
  1. And While We’re at it, Think Twice About Offering Him Another Post
  2. The United States Is Entering a Critical Phase in Its Encounter with Political Islam
  3. The Fact That the Left Is in a Red-Green Alliance with Islamists Has Obviated the Need for Muslim Leaders to Moderate