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
With the IDF Dug in at Beaufort, Its Next Challenge Is Preventing Hezbollah from Returning to the Guerrilla Tactics That Once Drove Israel from Southern Lebanon
In Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza, the Jewish State Addresses the Islamist Threat from Alliances Led by Iran and Turkey
The Agreement Preserves Jerusalem’s Freedom of Action for as Long as the Sovereignty of Its Northern Neighbor Remains Fictitious and Iran’s Proxy Remains the Strongest Force There
Israel Has Sought Throughout to Detach Its Battle with the Iranian Proxy Group Hezbollah in Lebanon from the Negotiations
Syria Remains Deeply Divided Along Ethnic Lines, with a Series of Ongoing ‘Cold Wars’ Underway Between Minority Communities and the New Sunni Arab Authorities
Tehran Has Emerged from This Last Chapter Strengthened on the Strategic Level
The Current MoU Appears to Signal the U.S. Desire to Quit the Fight
Iran May Now Be Free to Rebuild Its Battered but Intact Structures of Power
The Place, Very Clearly, Where Trump Feels Comfortable Is Where Deals Are Made
The U.S. and Israel Need a Concerted Strategy of Support for Both External and Internal Pressure on the Regime, with the Intention of Bringing It Down
Jerusalem Has Made Clear That Tehran’s Insistence on Linking Any Deal to a Ceasefire in Lebanon Will Not Constrain Its Response to Hezbollah Attacks
This Is Not the Ceding of Iran’s ‘Deep State’ Within the Iraqi System, but Rather Its Adjustment and Consolidation
Israel Is Evidently Unable to Develop a Policy or Strategy Able to Finally Place Relations with Its Smaller Northern Neighbor on a Firm and Stable Footing
Within the Next Five Months, Israelis Will Have a Chance to Deliver Their Verdict on the Present Government’s Performance
The Emerging Evidence Suggests That This Organization Is a Front for Elements Operating on Behalf of the Iranian Regime
Despite Ceasefires Across Three Fronts, All Sides Are Preparing for Renewed Combat
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
The ‘Lebanese Mud,’ as the Hebrew Phrase Has It, Never Seems Quite to Be Finally Scraped off the IDF’s Boots
Hezbollah Chose to Join the Current Round of Fighting After Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei Was Killed