By Cementing Ties with Uganda, Israel Is Effectively Anchoring a New Southern Flank
The Danger Is Not Just Erosion of Freedom of Navigation, but Also Iran’s Direct Financing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Terror
Iran Returns the Favor by Explicitly Carrying Out an Anti-Western ‘Crusade’ from Spanish Soil
Iran Has Relied on Petrochemicals to Offset Restrictions on Crude Oil Exports
To Undermine the Kurds, Al-Sharaa Has Sought to Assert Greater Control over Their Political Representation
The University Is Preparing to Hire Yet Another Credentialed, Israel-Hating, BDS Activist for a Very High-Profile Job
Saddam Haftar and the Libyan National Army Provide Security for the Oil Fields, Their Transport, and Their Export
One Month in, America’s Analysts Are Offering a Rearview Mirror. The Iran War Needs a Roadmap
Libyan Oil Should Belong to Libyans, Not Benefit Turkish Businessmen, Swiss Bankers, or Extremists
Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi’s Field Reports on Kurdish Displacement, Minority Rights Are Already Shaping Policy Debate
The Regime Is Worried About Another Uprising After the War and Cannot Trust Its Own Forces to Get the Job Done
As the Conflict Between Israel and Hezbollah Continues, the Lebanese Have Made It Clear This Battle Is Not Theirs
Mahfouz Had Originally Intended to Become a Philosopher. That He Became a Novelist Instead Was, for the Arabic Language, an Extraordinary Stroke of Fortune
We Must Save Ourselves from Ourselves
The Abraham Accords Laid the Groundwork, but the Current War Has Forged the True Alliance, as Iran Attacks Gulf Cooperation Council States
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
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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The Most Exorbitant White-Washing Tactics Portray Student Protesters as Wiser and Better at Educating than the Universities Where They Protest -
In Southwestern Baden-Württemberg, a Shi’ite Terrorism Problem Is Spiraling Out of Control and the Threat Is Real -
The Prophet Muhammad Expropriated Jewish Property to Consolidate Power and Build the First Islamic State -
The Hearing Presented a Bipartisan Display of the Growing Frustration of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Increasing Authoritarianism
