Public Religious Expression, Immigration, and Identity Debates Are Colliding in the U.K.’s Capital
Iran’s Long Memory of Foreign Concessions Explains Why Transactional Regime Change Would Fail
Brussels’ New Industrial and Emissions Rules Expose How Deeply Turkey’s Automotive Sector Depends on EU Market Access
Damascus Signals Cultural Recognition While Using Legal Ambiguity to Pressure the Syrian Democratic Forces Into Centralized Rule
Benghazi’s Outreach to Athens Seeks to Shield Libya’s Frozen Assets From Russian and Turkish Predation
Decades of Security Preparation, Economic Capture, and Elite Cohesion Complicate Any Path to Change
Israeli Christians and Islamic Converts Blast Declaration for Adopting a Submissive Posture Toward Islam
Iranian Forces Reportedly Are Entering Hospitals to Murder Wounded Iranians and Many Iranians Are Afraid to Seek Treatment
Without Political Acknowledgment of Kurdish Rights and the Rights of Druze, Alawites, and Other Minorities, Syria Will Not Stabilize
Relations with the United States, Turkey, Syria, Iran, and Russia Factor Into the Decision, as Does the Risk of Harming Kurds
If Trump Does Not Follow Through with His Threat Against the Regime, Russia and China Will See His Rhetoric as Empty
Witnesses Describe Point-Blank Shootings, and Detained Protesters Were Stripped Naked and Forced to Stand Outdoors in the Cold
Governments Must Recognize That Ideological Alignment Can Be as Corrosive to Enforcement as Criminal Conduct
A January 18, 2026, Agreement with the Government Represents a Major Setback for Syrian Kurds and Their Political Aspirations
The Hard Truth Is, That Ideology Has Failed to Create a Durable and Peaceful Political Order in the Kurds’ Host States
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
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.
Gaza
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Ceasefire Proponents Should Acknowledge Their Errors after Sinwar Death -
Iran’s mobilisation of assets in support of Hamas in Gaza has now, through a ladder of escalation, brought the region within visible distance of war between Israel and Iran. -
October 7 Changed Everything in Israel, They Said. But Did It? -
Roey’s Story Transcends the Tragedy of This Death; It Is Also a Testament to Bravery and Commitment
