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
The Decision Sends a Signal That National Priorities Now Outweigh Collective Discipline
Flagship Research Series Documents Blasphemy Laws, Forced Labor, and Social Segregation Targeting 3.3 Million Pakistani Christians
The Use of Media Criticism and Symbolic Acts like Graffiti Suggests That Internal Discipline Is Loosening at the Margins
Catholics Join in Protesting Holy See’s and U.S. Bishops’ Use of Ideological Term
For Trump to Push Forward with Boulos’ Proposal for Rapprochement Also Would Insult Ethiopian and Eritrean Americans
The Country Stands as an Unapologetic and Reliable Ally of the Jewish State on Both Moral and Strategic Grounds
To Preserve the Alliance, Policymakers Must Demonstrate Its Importance and Counter Wildly False Accusations About Israel
A Silent Village Reflects the Lingering Costs of Afrin’s Upheaval
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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MEF Investigation Exposes How Nexus Project Operates as a ‘Laundromat’ for Anti-Zionist AntisemitismNew Israel Fund-Backed Initiative, Inserted into U.S. Policy, Created Systematic Loopholes to Shield Anti-Israel Actors from Accountability -
House Judiciary Committee cites MEF findings as Texas lawmakers move to investigate Islamist-linked institutions -
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
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There Are Two Dominant Views of the Middle East. The Prevailing One Will Determine Whether Western Civilization Survives or Is Eroded from Within -
The Draft of a New Palestinian Constitution Has Weaponized the Entire Idea of a Constitution -
While Morocco Is Pro-Western and a Signatory to the Abraham Accords, Algeria Is Aligned with Russia, China, and Iran -
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
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As Iranian-Backed Proxies Stretch Israeli Forces Across Multiple Fronts, Jerusalem Has Lost Its Most Reliable Defender in Brussels -
Conspiracy Theorists Ignore the Facts and Blame Jewish Tourists Rather than Drought or Funding Shortfalls to Fight Fires -
The Death Toll of Christians Massacred on Palm Sunday in Nigeria Rises to 53: Just Background Noise in the Global Media Chaos -
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
Gaza
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The ‘Popular Army,’ Led by One Ashraf Al-Mansi, Is Notable for Its Presence in the Northern Part of the Strip -
Antisemitic Textbooks Assert the Bible is Distorted and Paint ‘Paul the Jew’ As the Corruptor of Christianity -
For Decades, the International Community Remained Stubbornly Wedded to a ‘Top-Down’ Fantasy -
Reconstruction Talk That Races Ahead of Security Realities Risks Freezing Conflict Rather than Resolving It
Islam
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Religious Labeling Does Not Change Destructive Capacity, but It Changes Perceived Authority -
Eighth-Graders Are Told That Moses and Jesus Are ‘Islamic Prophets’ and That Christians Will Be Punished for Believing in the Trinity -
State Centralization Transformed the Waqf Into a Regulatory Instrument That Retained the Name but Lost Its Substance -
How Islam Severed Itself from the Biblical World That Once Made Its Scripture Intelligible
Muslims in the US
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In a Highly Anticipated Move, the Trump Administration Designated Factions of the Global Muslim Brotherhood as Terrorist Organizations Last Month -
The West, in Its Universalist Hubris, Imports Incompatible Paradigms, Believing That Liberal Democracy Can Digest Everything, like an Omnivorous Leviathan -
And While We’re at it, Think Twice About Offering Him Another Post
