The Displaced Syrian Shia in Homs Are Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Afraid or Unable to Return Home, and Now Facing Israeli Airstrikes in Lebanon
Washington Asks Baghdad to Control Iranian Proxies but Does Not Fully Acknowledge the Environment It Faces
Ordinary Iranians Are Sensitive About Intervention by Outsiders, and Especially So About the U.S.
The Future of the War in Iran Is Increasingly Focused on Less than 9 Square Miles of Coral Outcrop in the Persian Gulf
Ahmad Vahidi Is the Key Cog in the Regime’s Chain of Command. He Is Also Wanted by Interpol in Connection with Terrorist Attacks
The Clarification Emphasizes That Facilities of Relevance to Tourists Are either Exempt from the Regulations or Will Be Subject to Further Consideration
Expert: False Flag Scenario Ludicrous
The Threat to Strike Anywhere U.S. Forces May Be ‘Hiding’ Comes as Trump Again Postponed Attacks on Iran’s Energy Infrastructure
If Iran or Its Proxies Attack a U.S. Embassy, the United States Should Destroy the Iranian Embassy in That Country
The Same Iranian Presence That Hides in Trafficking and Money Laundering Is Taking Visible Military Form in the Americas
Israel’s Current War on Two Fronts Shows Few Signs of Wrapping up Soon
Congress Must Pass an Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill That Includes Funding to Support the Iranian People in Their Pursuit of Regime Change
Until Europeans Grasp That Weakness Is Not a Virtue but a Slow Suicide, They Will Continue to Take Blows While Responding with Useless Diplomatic Notes
This Escalation Has Ignited a Regional Alarm That Reaches from Algiers to Cairo
The Regime Maintains Around Ten Major Missile Cities, Alongside at Least Seventeen Additional Missile Bases
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
-
New Research Initiative Honors Pioneering Scholars Bat Ye’or and David Littman While Addressing Modern-Day Religious Oppression -
Years of Middle East Forum Warnings Validated as Israel’s Parliament Takes Action -
The Middle East Quarterly, MEF’s Journal Intended for Both Scholars and the Educated Public, Features Historical Articles and Book Reviews on Subjects Ranging from Archaeology to Politics -
Governor Abbott’s Historic Designation Confirms Middle East Forum’s Extensive Documentation of Hamas-Linked Organization Operating in Richardson, Texas
-
Jew-Hatred Is Never Just About Jews; It’s the Canary in the Democratic Coal Mine -
Despite the Complexities of Managing So Many Moving Parts, There Is Still Reason to Remain Hopeful About the U.S.-Led Alliance -
The Biden Administration’s Decision in 2021 to Remove the Houthis from the U.S. List of Foreign Terror Organizations Weakened Deterrence by Reducing Political and Economic Pressure -
Reports from the Hamas-Controlled Area Indicate That the Terror Group Has Fully Reimposed Its Will on the Population There
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
-
Savagery and Hostage-Taking Has Been Used to Reframe the Palestinian Arab-Israeli Conflict and Unleash a Torrent of Antisemitism -
Appeasement of Extremism Has Put Australia’s Jews at Risk -
The ‘Barcelonaz’ Map Reveals How State Rhetoric Has Normalized Antisemitic Targeting in Spain -
The Consequences of Mainstreaming Anti-Jewish Incitement in the West
Gaza
-
The Authority No Longer Functions as a Governing Entity, Does Not Police Territory, and Struggles to Collect Revenue -
As Washington Accelerates Phase Two in Gaza, Jerusalem Risks Losing Control Over the Endgame -
Also Will Trump’s Armada Strike Iran and What Will be Built in Gaza? -
Israel’s Prime Minister Is Accepting a Risky Phase Two That Could Leave Hamas Armed and Entrenched
Islam
-
This Is What Happens When You Think “the West” Is Just the Direction Where the Sun Sets -
If an Islamic Council Governed the Pilgrimage, Shi’i, Ibadi, and Other Muslim Communities Could Contribute to Ritual, Logistics, and Interpretation -
Today’s Islamism Promises Authenticity but Is Postmodern in Form, Postcolonial in Posture, and Pretends to Retrieve the Sacred Through the Techniques of the Profane -
USC’s Tendentious Approach to the Middle East Appears Rooted in Not Only Poor Judgment but Also Foreign Influence
