Jonathan Spyer

Director of Research & MEQ Editor

Jonathan Spyer oversees the Forum’s content and is editor of the Middle East Quarterly. Mr. Spyer, a journalist, reports for Janes Intelligence Review, writes a column for the Jerusalem Post, and is a contributor to the Wall Street Journal and The Australian. He frequently reports from Syria and Iraq. He has a B.A. from the London School of Economics, an M.A. from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, and a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics. He is the author of two books: The Transforming Fire: The Rise of the Israel-Islamist Conflict (2010) and Days of the Fall: A Reporter’s Journey in the Syria and Iraq Wars (2017).

Articles by this Author
Qatar’s Activities in the Middle East Have Handily Been Described as Combining the Functions of the Arsonist and the Firefighter
The Lebanese Government Appears to Want to Commence a Negotiating Process with Hezbollah, Seeking to Convince It to Give up Its Arms Voluntarily
Its Remit Is the Preservation of the Regime and the Advancement of the Revolutionary Islamist Ideas Under Which It Seized Power
Complacency Would Be a Grave Error
It Is Not Possible to Negotiate with an Entity and at the Same Time Determinedly Seek Its Wholesale Destruction
In Just Eight Months of Sunni Islamist Rule in Syria, Already Three Large-Scale Incidents of Sectarian Violence Have Taken Place
Political and Military Will, and Manpower, Are Not Lacking in Southern Yemen
The Flaw in Soleimani’s Plan Seems to Be That He Assumed That Religious and Ideological Loyalties Would Win Out over Local Self-Interest
The Regime Is Not Broken. Its Ambitions Remain Intact. It Will Now Set About Trying to Revive Its Capacities
The Middle East Currently Stands at a Crossroads
In the First Incident of Its Kind Since the Fall of the Assad Regime, Two Rockets Were Fired from Syria at the Golan Heights on June 3
Notably Absent Is Any Ground Element to the War, Which Is Currently Being Fought Entirely Between Air and Missile Forces
Iran Has for at Least a Quarter Century Engaged in a Clandestine Program Intended to Bring It a Nuclear Weapons Capacity
With the Launch of Operation ‘Rising Lion’ Against Iranian Nuclear and Military Facilities, Israel Appears to Have Sought to Take Advantage of a Narrow Window of Opportunity
The Apparent Rejection by the Terror Group Confirms the Essential Issue Under Dispute in the Conflict
As Erdoğan’s Turkey Builds Its Power and Influence, Its Opposition to and Agitation Against Israel Is Continuing Unabated
This Is the First Time That the U.S. Has Witnessed the Deliberate Targeting and Murder of Jews by an American Far-Leftist on U.S. Soil
The New Plan Is a Tacit Acknowledgment That Israel’s Approach Has Not Come Close to the Desired Objective of the Destruction of Hamas Rule in Gaza
The Latest India-Pakistan Confrontation Underscores the Strategic Role of Pakistan’s Military and ISI in Exacerbating Kashmir’s Instability