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
Hamas Has Poured Financial Support Into Two Recent Flotillas Through Its European Networks
The Collapse of the Malian State Is a Direct Security Liability for North Africa
The Polisario Front May Deserve the Terrorist Label, but Securing the Sahara Still Requires Confronting Algeria’s Support.
Iranian Authorities Continue to Project Defiance but the Economy Appears to Have Limited Remaining Resilience
Jerusalem Sees Belgrade as Its Most Dependable Partner Among the Former Yugoslav Republics
The Movement Seeks to Establish Jewish Settlements in Southern Syria
The Strait’s Closure Disrupts the Flow of More than 20 Percent of the World’s Oil and Gas Supplies
The Banned Group Continues to Feed Extremist Networks Under Legal Ambiguity
Designating Islah Is a Prerequisite for Any Peace Process Worth the Name
The Pipeline Would Cost Billions of Dollars, Take Years to Build, and Would Cross Multiple Jurisdictions, Not All of Them Reliable
Why Does the State Department Accept that the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government Imprisons Journalists?
A Government That Threatens a Global Shipping Lane While Losing Ground to a Jihadist Insurgency Is Not Projecting Strength
International Humanitarian Law Prohibits Targeted Attacks on Civilians and Attacks That Cannot Distinguish Between Civilian and Military Targets
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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Lawmakers from Israel, U.S., Greece, and Cyprus Launch Caucus to Strengthen Ties and Contain Ankara -
Bipartisan Members of Congress Join Israeli Knesset Members for Virtual Strategy Session on the 3+1 Framework -
Comprehensive Analysis Examines U.S. Military Buildup, Opposition Leadership, and the Case for American Action Following Regime’s Massacres -
A Federal Judge Has Dismissed All Claims Brought by the South Florida Muslim Federation Against the Middle East Forum and Its Allies for the Second Time
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The Question Facing the Mullahs Is This: Would Trump Use Air Power to Bomb Iran and Bring About Regime Change If Negotiations Collapse -
Iran’s Regime Has Schemed to Expand the Islamic Revolution Since the Ayatollahs Seized Power in November 1979 -
The India of 1949 Was ‘Postcolonial, Post-British, Post-Partition, Post-Traumatic’ -
Savagery and Hostage-Taking Has Been Used to Reframe the Palestinian Arab-Israeli Conflict and Unleash a Torrent of Antisemitism
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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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 -
Expert: False Flag Scenario Ludicrous -
From Telegram to European Streets: The Expansion of Iran-Aligned Narratives -
Turkuvaz Media Group Promotes Conspiracy Theories Portraying Jews as Criminals, Intelligence Operatives, and Members of a Global Cabal
Gaza
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When a Centralized Ideological Regime Collapses, the Vacuum Is Never Filled by a Committee of Bureaucrats -
![“We see them test our troops. We see them carrying out attacks every week… [Hamas] injured and killed soldiers since the ceasefire began,” IDF Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani told The Post at a military outpost in the central Gaza Strip on Thursday.](https://cdn-mef.meforum.org/dims4/default/126c66a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2704x1520+0+140/resize/500x281!/brightness/16x0/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fk2-prod-mef.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F3d%2F29%2Fd1c530464a578792da895f74a56f%2Fidf-soldier-silhouette-in-gaza.jpg)
Israeli Forces Claim There Are Violations ‘Every Day’ -
For Nearly Eight Decades, the International Community Has Coddled a Unique and Dangerous Fiction: The Perpetual Palestinian Arab Refugee -
A Rare Account From a Gaza Faction Opposing Hamas Rule
![“We see them test our troops. We see them carrying out attacks every week… [Hamas] injured and killed soldiers since the ceasefire began,” IDF Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani told The Post at a military outpost in the central Gaza Strip on Thursday.](https://cdn-mef.meforum.org/dims4/default/35930f0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2704x1520+0+140/resize/500x281!/brightness/16x0/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fk2-prod-mef.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F3d%2F29%2Fd1c530464a578792da895f74a56f%2Fidf-soldier-silhouette-in-gaza.jpg)
Islam
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How Islam Severed Itself from the Biblical World That Once Made Its Scripture Intelligible -
He Is Not an Islamist, but He Is a Muslim Tribalist Who Believes the White Race Has Exploited Middle Eastern Muslims -
European Court Ruling Will Set Precedent on Muslim Nation Vying for European Union Membership -
Pakistani Leaders and Clerics Present the Country’s Nuclear Program as an Issue of National and Islamic Pride
Muslims in the US
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And While We’re at it, Think Twice About Offering Him Another Post -
The United States Is Entering a Critical Phase in Its Encounter with Political Islam -
The Fact That the Left Is in a Red-Green Alliance with Islamists Has Obviated the Need for Muslim Leaders to Moderate -
Husham Al-Husainy Was Headed to D.C. Until His Past Caught up with Him
