About
The Middle East Forum Observer

The Middle East Forum Observer was founded in 2024 and provides rapid analysis on leading Middle East developments, from Marrakech to Mashhad and the Bab el-Mandeb to the Black Sea.

More than just an outlet for opinion and opeds, the Observer explores topics in greater depth than American newspapers or opinion essays, often drawing upon primary language research or technical expertise on topics like shipping, aircraft leasing, or counter-terrorism finance. Policymakers and intelligence analysts not only in the United States and Europe, but also across the Middle East regularly read Observer articles. Newspapers and policy journals from Israel to Iran excerpt and debate the Observer’s takes.

As with the Middle East Quarterly, Middle East Forum Observer is open access. All content is available without charge. The Middle East Forum Observer allows reposts of its articles as an integral whole with a citation that includes author, date, title, publication and original URL.

More from MEF
Should any Turk who served in Cyprus and bore arms there appear at a European airport or land border checkpoint, they should face tens of thousands of Euros in fines and a decade in prison if they step foot anywhere in the European Union. Above, in Kyrenia (Girne), Turkish-occupied Cyprus, Turkish soldiers stand during Armed Forces Day, a Turkish national holiday; August 30, 2019.
Middle East Forum Online
Europe Will Have No Credibility Until Cyprus Is Resolved
Most European States Cannot Fight. They Excel at Military Law but Not at Combat Maneuver Warfare
May 13, 2026
 · 
Michael Rubin
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama consults frequently with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, after whom he openly models himself. Rome, Italy, November 13, 2025.
Middle East Forum Online
Albania Is the World’s Newest Narcostate Threat
Incumbent Prime Minister Edi Rama Has Taken the Country’s Criminality to a New Level
May 13, 2026
 · 
Michael Rubin
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian about restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
Middle East Forum Observer
Tehran Seeks Diplomatic Legitimacy While Maintaining Grip on Hormuz
The Regime Presents Even Symbolic Contacts with Major Western Leaders as Evidence That Powerful Countries Are Appealing to It
May 13, 2026
 · 
Mardo Soghom
The Greek island of Kastellorizo sits only a few miles off the southern coast of Turkey.
Middle East Forum Observer
Turkey’s Maritime Strategy Heightens the Risk of a New Eastern Mediterranean Crisis
Ankara’s New Legislative Initiative May Appear Technical or Bureaucratic, but It Represents a Calculated Escalation by Erdoğan
May 13, 2026
 · 
Sinan Ciddi
Syrian Democratic Forces in Aleppo in January 2026.
Middle East Forum Observer
The Fallacies of Kurdish Integration with Damascus
Al-Sharaa’s Regime Wants to Exploit the Balance of Power, Which Favors Damascus, to Alter the Kurdish Region
May 13, 2026
 · 
Sirwan Kajjo
The Enlightenment has been digested in a single Ramadan and the nation that invented the rights of man and secularism is turning itself halal without even the modesty of an explicit conversion. It is a creeping surrender, bureaucratic, commercial, smelling of fear and terminal goodism.
Middle East Forum Online
French Capitulation to Islam: Liberté, Égalité, Soumission
The Nation That Invented the Rights of Man and Secularism Is Turning Itself Halal Without Even the Modesty of an Explicit Conversion
May 13, 2026
 · 
Giulio Meotti
The organization Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (The Islamic Companions of the Right Hand) claimed responsibility for the stabbings of two Jewish men in London’s Golders Green neighborhood on April 29.
Middle East Forum Online
Gig Economy Terrorism: Ashab Al-Yamin’s Rise Brings New Terror Threat to Europe
The Emerging Evidence Suggests That This Organization Is a Front for Elements Operating on Behalf of the Iranian Regime
May 12, 2026
 · 
Jonathan Spyer
Asking Israel to fund its own defense is not abandonment; it is the recognition of strength.
Press Releases
As U.S.-Israel Aid Talks Open, MEF Releases Strategic Roadmap for the Post-Aid Alliance
A New Report Examines How the United States and Israel Must Design the Successor Framework to U.S. Military Aid
May 12, 2026
Mohammad Bagher-Ghalbaf
Middle East Forum Observer
Should the United States Help Ghalibaf Triumph in Iran’s Power Struggle?
Trump Could Act as the New Supreme Leader, Refereeing by Drone and Tomahawk Disputes Within the Islamic Republic
May 12, 2026
 · 
Shay Khatiri
Hatra, an ancient city in Upper Mesopotamia, located in present-day eastern Nineveh Governorate, Iraq.
Middle East Forum Observer
Are the Assyrians America’s Most Overlooked Ally in the Middle East?
Supporting an Assyrian Region Would Bring Justice and Could Offer Washington a Dependable Partner in Iraq
May 12, 2026
 · 
Enlil Odisho