As the Islamic Republic Cracks, the Iran Freedom Congress in London Races to Build the Framework Tehran Prayed Would Never Exist
There Is No Longer Any Illusion About the Prospect of a Genuine Democratic Transition in Syria Under Its Islamist Leadership
Antisemitic Textbooks Assert the Bible is Distorted and Paint ‘Paul the Jew’ As the Corruptor of Christianity
Parts of the Western Hemisphere Function as a Financial Backend, Logistics Marketplace, and Operational Sphere for Criminal Networks
The Nation Finds Itself Suspended Between the Haunting Legacy of Its past and an Ambitious, If Contentious, Military Future
Claims of an Ideological Pivot Obscure More Plausible Explanations for Riyadh’s Regional Behavior.
A Sudanese Militia Leader on War Aims, Allegations of Islamism, and the Future of the State
For Decades, the Islamic Republic Has Used the MEK as a Convenient Bogeyman to Frighten the Public and Justify Repression
Khamenei Has Safeguarded the Regime So That the Hardline Qom Clergy and Security Establishment Will Remain Dominant
For Now, the African Union Maintains Somalia’s Formal Territorial Claim and Tolerates Limited Engagement with Somaliland
Students Are Once Again at the Center of the Country’s Demands for Change
Israel Has Woken up to the Threat a Turkish Nuclear Weapons Program Would Pose; India Should Do So as Well
For Decades, the Israeli Security Establishment Operated Under a Self-Imposed Psychological Constraint Known Informally as the ‘Ramadan Veto’
The Crisis Isn’t About Islam; It’s About Transnational Political Networks
Abu Hudhayfa Al-Ansari Has Issued a New Speech to Mark the Occasion of the Month of Ramadan
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.
Antisemitism
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Haddad’s Schmooze Fest with Palestinian Islamic Jihad Financier and Islamist Operative Sami al-Arian Shows His Inability to Discern Scholarship from Activism -
Anti-Western Propaganda Destroys the Lives of Those It Holds Captive -
The Student Newspaper Has Not Published a Story About the Firing of an Islamic Studies Professor Accused of Sexual Misconduct -
Broad Implications for the United States from the First Accused Islamic Terrorist to Illegally Cross the Southern Border and Shoot an American for Jihad
Gaza
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Italy and Spain Should Direct Their Warships to Halt Escort Operations Inside Israel’s Territorial Sea -
Israel Is on the Cusp of Comprehensively Defeating Hamas, and It Must Gain Control of Gaza That Lasts Indefinitely -
The Flotilla to Gaza Is Designed to Create a Media Spectacle, Not to Deliver Aid -
Judging by Its Operations, the Israel Defense Forces Believes It Has Total Control over the Area
