Iran’s Leadership Crisis Ends With A Familiar Name And A Narrower Political Future.
Many Young Iranians Have Turned from Shi’ism in Recent Years Out of Disgust with Iran’s Clerical Hierarchy
The Government Acknowledged Dozens of Casualties, Though Some Eyewitnesses Suggested the Number Was Higher
The Houthis Have Avoided Making Definitive Statements About How They Might Respond If Regional Hostilities Intensify
Spain Runs Colonies Across the Strait of Gibraltar on the Northern Coast of Morocco
Even After Battlefield Defeat, Tehran’s Networks May Shift Toward Global Revenge.
Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s New Supreme Leader, Is a Devoted Son of the Islamic Republic Whose Rule May Take the Regime in an Even More Extreme Direction
What Could Change This Picture Is a Joint Us-Israeli Long-War Strategy to Bring Down the Iranian Regime by Supporting Both Armed and Civilian Opposition on the Ground
National Intelligence Council Products and National Intelligence Estimates Promote Groupthink
Washington Has Encouraged European Allies to Assume Greater Responsibility for Regional Security
The Move Illustrates Trump’s Pledge to Pursue the Muslim Brotherhood Wherever Possible
Interpretive Guidance Says Definition Does Not Prohibit Criticizing or Insulting Islam
Even With Iran Reeling, the United Arab Emirates Has Refrained from Taking Back the Islands
Hezbollah’s Hybrid Model in Lebanon Allows It to Operate Within or Behind Formal State Institutions
He Hanged Gays and Slaughtered Opponents, but He Had a ‘Bushy Beard and Easy Smile’
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.
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.
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
Spring 2026 Volume 33: Number 2
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For over a Century, American Presidents Have Purposefully Chosen Middle East Negotiators Who Know Next to Nothing About the Region, Seeing Their Ignorance as a Advantage -
MEF Chief Editor Jim Hanson Discusses American Strikes in Yemen -
Only When Houthi Leaders Face Personal Consequences for Their Actions Can We Hope to Defeat This Threat
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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Nearly Seven Months Have Elapsed Since an Illegal Immigrant from Mauritania Shot and Wounded a Visibly Orthodox Jewish Man in a Chicago Terror Attack -
The Anti-Israel Gathering in Vienna in June Features Several Palestinian Activists Who Support Abolition of the Jewish State -
A Middle East Forum Report
Gaza
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Without a Fundamental Shift in Iran’s Policy, the United States Will Struggle to Advance Lasting Arab-Israeli Peace -
Tehran Skips the Gaza Peace Summit, Exposing Deep Fractures Among Leaders as the Economy Crumbles and Sanctions Bite -
When a U.S. Ambassador Was Killed in Benghazi, Turkey Looked Away—and Has Continued to Encourage Islamist Extremism -
How a Ceasefire Snatched Defeat from the Jaws of Victory, Ensuring the Terror Group Survives to Fight Another Day
