Islamist Orgs Say Nothing While Iranian Protesters Sacrifice Their Lives
No Official Details Have Emerged About Washington’s Minimum Demands If Talks Proceed
The Stakes Are High for the United States, Which Seeks to Maintain Cohesion Among Regional Partners and Avoid Escalation Between Allies
The Diplomatic Veneer of the ‘New Syria’ Began to Crack, Revealing a Security Nightmare That the West Has Spent a Decade Trying to Prevent
Reports Indicated That Tehran May Be Willing to Give up Its Stockpile of Enriched Uranium to Prevent a U.S. Attack
While Saudi Arabia Outlaws the Muslim Brotherhood at Home, Mohammed Bin Salman Empowers It Abroad
The Agreement’s Ambiguity Leaves Room for Multiple Interpretations, Which Could Affect Its Implementation
Musa Abu Jafar Is a Salafist Cleric Who Has Long Promoted Jihadist Causes Across Multiple Countries
An Agreement with Nvidia for a Computing System Reflects a Broader Trend of Deepening U.S.-Cyprus Technology Alignment
Property Restitution, Security Conditions, and Minority Rights in Northwest Syria
Scholars Confess the Sins of their Fellow Christians to Islamist Activists
Social Media Features Many Posts by Iranians Openly Welcoming Possible American Military Intervention
Georgetown University Is the Epicenter of Qatari Influence in American Higher Education
The Authority No Longer Functions as a Governing Entity, Does Not Police Territory, and Struggles to Collect Revenue
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.
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
A Doctrine for the Iranian Resistance
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?
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
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
  1. Peace Demainds Us To End the Destructive Chimera.
  2. Those Outraged by Trump’s Proposal May Not Recall That a Similar Plan for Palestinians Was Put Forth in 1953
  3. If Washington Is Serious About Forging a Solution to Gaza, Then It Must Address Contradictions in Its Relationship With Doha.