More from MEF
Middle East Forum Online
Turkey’s Longstanding Tolerance of the Islamic State Raises Fears of More Bloodshed
Years of State Protection and Legal Impunity Allowed Jihadist Networks to Flourish Inside Turkey
February 3, 2026
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Abdullah Bozkurt
Middle East Forum Online
Israel Risks Losing the Strategic Endgame in Gaza
As the Hostage File Closes, Strategic Pressure on Israel Accelerates
February 3, 2026
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Amine Ayoub
A file photo of the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier.
Middle East Forum Observer
Could Iran Really Target a U.S. Carrier Group?
Against a Carrier Strike Group, Drone Swarms Function Primarily as Harassment and Posturing Tools
February 3, 2026
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Mardo Soghom
A natural gas drilling rig with the flag of Iran in the background.
Middle East Forum Observer
Iran’s Gas Wealth and the Limits of Export Capacity
The Gap Between Potential and Performance Does Not Stem from Sanctions Alone
February 3, 2026
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Umud Shokri
Thousands of Iranian protesters have paid for their demands for freedom with their lives, yet U.S.-based Islamist advocacy groups that loudly condemn American actions abroad have largely refused to confront the Islamic Republic’s mass killings and repression.
FWI Research
U.S.-Based Islamist Organizations Ignore Killings in Iran, Condemn America
Islamist Orgs Say Nothing While Iranian Protesters Sacrifice Their Lives
February 2, 2026
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Noah Sandler
President Donald Trump at the White House in April 2025.
Middle East Forum Observer
Fears Grow Among Iranians as U.S. Weighs Talks with Tehran
No Official Details Have Emerged About Washington’s Minimum Demands If Talks Proceed
February 2, 2026
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Mardo Soghom
A panoramic view of Pigadia Bay, Karpathos Island, Greece.
Middle East Forum Observer
No Strategic Convergence in the Greece-Turkey Dialogue
The Stakes Are High for the United States, Which Seeks to Maintain Cohesion Among Regional Partners and Avoid Escalation Between Allies
February 2, 2026
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Nicoletta Kouroushi
If the Saudi pivot is a strategy, the Red Sea littoral is its primary theater of application; if the Abraham Accords represented a vision of an integrated regional order anchored in normalization and infrastructure interdependence, the Red Sea is where that vision encounters the structural obstacles to its realization.
Middle East Forum Online
Contested Order: The Structure of End-State Competition in the Red Sea
February 1, 2026
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Hussein Aboubakr Mansour
By allowing or facilitating the movement of radical elements toward the coast, unstable regimes in North Africa and the Levant gain a powerful bargaining chip against Europe. Their message is clear: “Fund our reconstruction and legitimize our rule, or the next boat to Lampedusa will carry more than just economic migrants.” Image: Iron boat used by migrants smugglers to arrive on the island of Lampedusa, Italy.
Middle East Forum Online
How Post-Assad Chaos and North African Smugglers Collide
The Diplomatic Veneer of the ‘New Syria’ Began to Crack, Revealing a Security Nightmare That the West Has Spent a Decade Trying to Prevent
February 1, 2026
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Amine Ayoub
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei reportedly has been in hiding since Israel's airstrikes began in June 2025.
Middle East Forum Observer
Khamenei Raises Specter of Regional War Amid Unrest at Home
Reports Indicated That Tehran May Be Willing to Give up Its Stockpile of Enriched Uranium to Prevent a U.S. Attack
February 1, 2026
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Mardo Soghom