Faces Pressures from the Naval Blockade, Which Affects Its Imports of Essential Goods and Export of Oil
This Year the Silence Had to Reach Further than It Has Ever Reached Before
The Balance Between Clerical Authority and Military Power May No Longer Be What It Once Was
Terrorist Groups Are Poised to Exploit the Prevailing Insecurity Across the Region, Especially in Weak States like Syria
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
Spotlight on War with Iran
The ceasefire still technically exists but negotiations seem stalled if not dead in the water. Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz got its first bump as two US-flagged vessels transited on May 3, 2026. President Trump says more will follow.
But Iran has fired on several other civilian tankers and it does not appear likely the war will end without some reignition of hostilities. The blockade has taken a heavy toll on Iran’s economy. The lack of oil revenue paired with the dwindling storage space for oil they pump seems the most potent leverage for any deal. MEF fellows and experts weigh in on all of this.
But Iran has fired on several other civilian tankers and it does not appear likely the war will end without some reignition of hostilities. The blockade has taken a heavy toll on Iran’s economy. The lack of oil revenue paired with the dwindling storage space for oil they pump seems the most potent leverage for any deal. MEF fellows and experts weigh in on all of this.
As unrest spreads across Iran, the regime and the opposition both face narrowing choices.
The Strait’s Closure Disrupts the Flow of More than 20 Percent of the World’s Oil and Gas Supplies
The Choice Facing the U.S. Is to Intensify and Escalate the Pressure, or to Accept a Face-Saving Deal Likely to Leave the Regime’s Regional Project Intact
Iran’s Energy Weakness Could Become Its Strategic Breaking Point
The Lebanese Government Will Not Risk Pushing Hezbollah Into Using Violence Against It by Trying to Disarm It
Spotlight on Oil and Energy
The kinetic action has mostly stopped but the maneuvering for power, which means energy, in the region has gotten even more heated. The oil and natural gas from the Middle East constitutes 25% of the world’s energy supply.
The UAE has left OPEC and may be in a position to increase that percentage and also ease the current supply shortage. The Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al Mandeb Strait have historically been chokepoints. But pipelines are making threats to those less powerful. These issues and more are getting the attention of Middle East Forum authors.
The UAE has left OPEC and may be in a position to increase that percentage and also ease the current supply shortage. The Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al Mandeb Strait have historically been chokepoints. But pipelines are making threats to those less powerful. These issues and more are getting the attention of Middle East Forum authors.
Bitter About Being Caught off Guard by the U.S. Attack on Iran and the End of Its Mediator Role, Oman Now Chooses Iran’s Side
The Most Significant Implication May Be What It Reveals About the Broader Collapse of the Gulf Hedging Architecture
Iranian Authorities Continue to Project Defiance but the Economy Appears to Have Limited Remaining Resilience
The Pipeline Would Cost Billions of Dollars, Take Years to Build, and Would Cross Multiple Jurisdictions, Not All of Them Reliable
The Decision Sends a Signal That National Priorities Now Outweigh Collective Discipline
Recovery Will Not Be Simply a Return to the Old Model, Now That Gulf States Are Diversifying Their Energy and Economies
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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IMEC Can Also Contain China’s Ambition to Expand More Into the Mediterranean -
It Is in America’s Interest to Engage in Helping Stabilize Syria and the Greater Region -
The Islamist Group Is Currently Threatening Regional Security by Claiming They Can Now Reach Greece -
Because of a Lack of Natural Resources, Suwayda, Where the Majority of Syrian Druze Live, Is the Most Impoverished Region in the Country
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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Savagery and Hostage-Taking Has Been Used to Reframe the Palestinian Arab-Israeli Conflict and Unleash a Torrent of Antisemitism -
Appeasement of Extremism Has Put Australia’s Jews at Risk -
The ‘Barcelonaz’ Map Reveals How State Rhetoric Has Normalized Antisemitic Targeting in Spain -
Jew-Hatred Is Never Just About Jews; It’s the Canary in the Democratic Coal Mine
Gaza
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Major Restructuring Follows Exposé of Hamas Inserting Operatives into Western Charities -
Islamabad Cannot Afford to Upset Turkey or Qatar and Is Far More Likely to Help Rebuild Hamas than to Disarm It -
A Disinformation Campaign Reveals the Somali Government’s Fear of Strategic Irrelevance -
Algiers Turns Humanitarian Branding Into A Soft-Power Weapon After Defeat At The U.N.
Muslims in the US
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The Executive Order’s Central Thrust Is to Restore, Repair, and Expand National Security Vetting Across Every Agency That Might Touch Immigration -
Pro-Hamas, Anti-jewish College Demonstrators Here on Visas Are on Notice That Their U.S. Welcome Is Over, Even with Expected Lawsuits -
Abdullah Ezzeldin Taha Mohamed Hassan Allegedly Plotted to Bomb Israeli Consulate in NYC -
How Might the Incoming Second Administration of Donald Trump Reduce the Threat of Attacks with Millions of Foreign Strangers Already Inside the U.S.?
