European, U.S. and U.N. Officials Should Signal to Tufan Erhürman, the Newly Elected President of Northern Cyprus, That He Can Make a Fresh Start
Turkish Cypriot Casinos Have Doubled in Number and Become Engines for Money Laundering with No Real Oversight
Iran Has the Largest Maritime and Tanker Fleet in the Region, but Its Vessels Are Old, and Much of Its Aviation Fleet Is Also Inactive
The Regime Often Floats an Extreme Option to Test Public Opinion, Then Retreats to a ‘Lesser Evil’ to Defuse Criticism
At Its Height, in the 15-Month Period Between April 2024 and July 2025, This Was a Region-Wide, State-to-State Conflict
Against All Odds, Two Years After October 7, 2023, Israel Has Generated a Much Higher Level of Security than It Had Before the Hamas Attack
The Conviction for ‘Hate Speech’ Has Ignited a Conversation About the Boundaries of Religious Expression and Freedom of Conscience in Europe
Mosque in Windsor Previously Hosted Pro-Iranian Events
House of Palestine Founder Named City’s “Favorite Daughter”
Erdoğan’s Endorsement of the Ceasefire Is Crucial Because It Sets a Precedent That Could Resolve Two Persistent Conflicts for Which Turkey Is at the Center
It Is Unlikely That These Arrests Are Random or Merely Aimed at Intimidating Local Populations
Real Peace Can Come Only After a Clear Victory for Israel — Or, Put Another Way, the Unmitigated Defeat of Its Enemies
Police Fail to Investigate Multiple Islamist Preachers for ‘Hate Speech’
Shadow Justice Secretary Calls for Guidance Against ‘Criminalizing Heresy’
Gaza Is Collapsing Under the Weight of Its Own Contradictions
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.
