Anti-Regime Protesters Stand Ground Against Khamenei Supporters
President Aliyev Has Reiterated a Demand That Armenia Amend Its Constitution to Eliminate ‘Baseless Territorial Claims’ Against Azerbaijan
It’s Unclear Whether This Signals Moderation in Iran’s Approach to the West, or Is Aimed at Preventing Another Israeli Attack
This Is What Happens When You Think “the West” Is Just the Direction Where the Sun Sets
FBI Affidavit Reveals US Citizen’s Foiled Attempt to Join ISIS Via Turkey’s Jihadist Transit Hub, Highlighting Erdogan’s Permissive Policies and Resulting in 2023 Guilty Plea
United Druze Spiritual Leaders Condemn Syrian Government’s Treacherous Siege and Assault on al-Suwayda’, Demanding Withdrawal and Accountability
U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff Has Not Yet Come to Baghdad, Which Many in the Trump Administration Still View Through the Outdated Lens of 2003 Rather Than 2025
The Participation of Druze and Alawite Leaders in a Recent Conference Infuriated Supporters of the Al-Sharaa Regime
CAGE Rallies Behind Leicester Riots ‘Influencer’ Ahead of Trials
Judge John P. Cronan Invalidated Subpoenas Issued at Turkey’s Request Seeking U.S. Banking Records of a Longtime Aide to the Late Fethullah Gülen
Energy Analysts Say the Volume of Iranian Oil Stored at Sea Has Escalated by About 30 Million Barrels Since the Beginning of 2025
Biden and Trump Appointed Judges Let Imam Stay, Trump Judge Dissents
Radical Jihadist Groups Have Turned Their Attention Toward the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Demanding Decisive Action Against Israel
Evyatar David Is Skin and Bones. He Is 24 Years Old; He Was 22 When He Was Kidnapped 668 Days Ago by Hamas at the Nova Music Festival
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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Flagship Research Series Documents Blasphemy Laws, Forced Labor, and Social Segregation Targeting 3.3 Million Pakistani Christians -
Legislation Backed by Decades of MEF Research Would Strip Hamas-Aligned Group of Tax-Exempt Status, Block Assets, and Force Dissolution -
Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi’s Field Reports on Kurdish Displacement, Minority Rights Are Already Shaping Policy Debate -
Three Policy Frameworks for the United States and Israel on Resistance, Succession, and the Strait of Hormuz
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.
