The Country Stands as an Unapologetic and Reliable Ally of the Jewish State on Both Moral and Strategic Grounds
To Preserve the Alliance, Policymakers Must Demonstrate Its Importance and Counter Wildly False Accusations About Israel
A Silent Village Reflects the Lingering Costs of Afrin’s Upheaval
Anniversary Rhetoric Masks Economic Collapse and Strategic Drift
A Network of Citizens, Residents, and Cultivated Operatives Were Passing Targeting Intelligence to Tehran While Attacks on Bahrain Were Ongoing
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
The U.S. May Be Signaling Dominance but Trying to Remain Flexible by Not Shutting Down Iran’s Oil Trade Entirely
Since 2018, No Prime Ministerial Candidate Has Moved Forward Without His Consultation, Approval, or Intervention
Two of Israel’s Most Serious Internal Problems Are Integrating the Haredi Population and Squelching Settler Violence in the West Bank
The Sudan Conflict Is a Humanitarian One, and It Risks Drawing Its Neighbors Into an Even Broader War
Every Month, Iran Needs to Import Around $1.3 Billion of Essential Commodities
Displays of Military Capability Project Control, Deter Challengers, and Signal Continuity
Dearborn and the Surrounding Communities Act as a Base of Support for the Decades-Long Propaganda War Against the Jewish Diaspora in America
When Saudi Forces Attacked Yemen’s Southern Forces, They Left a Vacuum Into Which Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Resurged
Unless a Meaningful Rift Emerges Within the Guard Itself, Claims of Significant Internal Leadership Divisions Are Overstated
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
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Middle East Forum Report Exposes Terror Ties Among Faculty as University Reels from President’s Resignation and $790M Federal Funding Freeze -
DHS: ‘We Take the Results of the MEF Report Very Seriously’ -
Moroccan Journalist Interrogated over Israeli Passport Stamps, Held 32 Hours without Food or Water in Calculated Act of Authoritarian Harassment
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Over the Years, Erdoğan Hosted Hamas, Providing Diplomatic Cover for Its Leadership -
IMEC Can Also Contain China’s Ambition to Expand More Into the Mediterranean -
It Is in America’s Interest to Engage in Helping Stabilize Syria and the Greater Region -
The Islamist Group Is Currently Threatening Regional Security by Claiming They Can Now Reach Greece
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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Appeasement of Extremism Has Put Australia’s Jews at Risk -
The ‘Barcelonaz’ Map Reveals How State Rhetoric Has Normalized Antisemitic Targeting in Spain -
Jew-Hatred Is Never Just About Jews; It’s the Canary in the Democratic Coal Mine -
The Consequences of Mainstreaming Anti-Jewish Incitement in the West
Gaza
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Islamabad Cannot Afford to Upset Turkey or Qatar and Is Far More Likely to Help Rebuild Hamas than to Disarm It -
A Disinformation Campaign Reveals the Somali Government’s Fear of Strategic Irrelevance -
Algiers Turns Humanitarian Branding Into A Soft-Power Weapon After Defeat At The U.N. -
The Real Test Of Gaza’s “Day After” Will Be Whether Hamas Faces Any Meaningful Compulsion
Muslims in the US
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The Executive Order’s Central Thrust Is to Restore, Repair, and Expand National Security Vetting Across Every Agency That Might Touch Immigration -
Pro-Hamas, Anti-jewish College Demonstrators Here on Visas Are on Notice That Their U.S. Welcome Is Over, Even with Expected Lawsuits -
Abdullah Ezzeldin Taha Mohamed Hassan Allegedly Plotted to Bomb Israeli Consulate in NYC -
How Might the Incoming Second Administration of Donald Trump Reduce the Threat of Attacks with Millions of Foreign Strangers Already Inside the U.S.?
