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
Government in Israel is by coalition. And none of the most recent polls find that the bloc of parties available for joining a coalition led by Benjamin Netanyahu, above, looks set to command over 60 seats, according to current rates of support. Rather, the most optimistic indications suggest support in the upper 50s, with one poll putting the Prime Minister’s bloc at only 51 seats.
Middle East Forum Online
Will Iran Give Benjamin Netanyahu a Wartime Boost?
Israel’s Current War on Two Fronts Shows Few Signs of Wrapping up Soon
March 26, 2026
 · 
Jonathan Spyer
Amid surging gas and food prices, the Pentagon has requested $200 billion to replenish ammunition and fund operations critical to the war effort in Iran. Yet, bombs and bullets alone will never defeat the Islamist diehards that hold positions of power in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Middle East Forum Online
Time for Congress to Get Busy Backing Regime Change in Iran
Congress Must Pass an Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill That Includes Funding to Support the Iranian People in Their Pursuit of Regime Change
March 26, 2026
 · 
Benjamin Baird
Swedish citizen Kourosh Keyvani was sentenced for “spying for Israel,” which in Iran is like saying “you ran a red light.” He was hanged in Tehran on March 18, 2026. Stockholm summoned the Iranian ambassador “to protest the execution of a Swedish citizen.”
Middle East Forum Online
It Is Not Europe’s War Even When Iran Hangs Europeans
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
March 26, 2026
 · 
Giulio Meotti
When the Russian flagged liquefied natural gas carrier Arctic Metagaz erupted in flames 150 miles off the coast of Sirte, Libya. it signaled that the scorched earth tactics of the Black Sea have been successfully exported to the North African littoral. The Arctic Metagaz in Norway, August 2012.
Middle East Forum Online
A Mediterranean Inferno: Ukraine’s Secret War Just Collided with Libya’s Chaos
This Escalation Has Ignited a Regional Alarm That Reaches from Algiers to Cairo
March 26, 2026
 · 
Amine Ayoub
A rocket soars into the sky, kicking up desert dust.
Middle East Forum Observer
U.S.-Israeli Strikes Expose Scale of Iran’s Missile Infrastructure
The Regime Maintains Around Ten Major Missile Cities, Alongside at Least Seventeen Additional Missile Bases
March 26, 2026
 · 
Mardo Soghom
A view of Dubai's city center, United Arab Emirates.
Middle East Forum Observer
Rumors of Dubai’s Demise Are Silly
Dubai Has Weathered Many Trials, Despite the Panic and Misperception That Colors Western Attitudes
March 26, 2026
 · 
Michael Rubin
Palestinian Islamic Jihad members take part in an anti-Israel demonstration in 2020.
Middle East Forum Observer
Palestinian Islamic Jihad May Be Iran’s Most Expendable Proxy, but It Is Still Dangerous
The Islamic Republic’s Proxy Is Less Likely to Open a Major New Front than to Intensify Attritional Violence from the West Bank
March 26, 2026
 · 
Jan Kapusnak
Middle East Forum Online
Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya and Claimed Attacks on Jewish Targets in Europe
From Telegram to European Streets: The Expansion of Iran-Aligned Narratives
March 25, 2026
 · 
Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi
Trump’s withdrawal of his ultimatum and the fact that negotiations are taking place do not necessarily mean that the U.S. has thrown in the towel in the face of Iran’s continued defiance. It is equally possible that the U.S. president is simply seeking to buy time until the U.S. forces currently heading for the region have deployed.
Middle East Forum Online
Trump vs Islamic Republic: Who Controls the Escalation Ladder?
It Appears Increasingly Likely That If Iran’s de Facto Control of the Strait of Hormuz Is to Be Broken, It Will Ultimately Require Direct U.S. Action
March 25, 2026
 · 
Jonathan Spyer
The February 5, 2026, filing by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey was submitted to oppose pretrial release for Tomas-Kaan Jimenez-Guzel, a national of the United States, Turkey and Spain who was arrested on November 4, 2025, at Newark Liberty International Airport as he prepared to board a flight to Turkey and, according to prosecutors, continue onward to ISIS-held territory in Syria.
Middle East Forum Online
New U.S. Filing Adds Evidence of Islamic State Suspect’s Planned Turkish Route, Domestic Attack Links
A U.S. Justice Department Brief Adds Fresh Details to a Terrorism Case That Already Cast Turkey as a Key Transit Corridor for Islamic State in Iraq and Syria Operatives
March 25, 2026
 · 
Abdullah Bozkurt