Statecraft Reimagined 2025:

More from MEF
The flags of Azerbaijan and Iraq flutter in the breeze on a cloudy day.
Middle East Forum Observer
Deepening Iraq-Azerbaijan Relations in Energy and Diplomacy
The Rapid Growth of Ties Between the Two Countries Shows How Ossified Divisions That Once Marked the Regions Are Breaking Down
May 30, 2025
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Umud Shokri
Turkish President Erdoğan may offer a hard sale to promote his Islamist vision or simply to enrich his family, but the Bayraktar TB2 drone he is selling—shown above in Istanbul—is now subpar. Just as socialism stymies development as bureaucrats fail to adjust for competition, so too does nepotism ruin industries. Baykar, knowing it had full state support, simply stopped innovating effectively.
Middle East Forum Online
Is Turkey’s Arms Industry a Loser in the India-Pakistan War?
Without Exception, Pakistan’s Turkish-Manufactured Drones Failed; India Either Shot Them Down or They Failed to Strike Their Targets
May 29, 2025
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Michael Rubin
Austria’s version of the FBI—the Directorate State Protection and Intelligence Service—wrote Monday in an intelligence report, “In order to assert and enforce its regional political power ambitions, the Islamic Republic of Iran is striving for comprehensive rearmament, with nuclear weapons to make the regime immune to attack and to expand and consolidate its dominance in the Middle East and beyond.”
Middle East Forum Online
Explosive New Intelligence Report Reveals Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Program Still Active
Austrian Intel Report Contradicts U.S. Claims on Iran Nuclear Weapons Program
May 29, 2025
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Benjamin Weinthal
The murders of Israeli diplomats Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., by Elias Rodriguez on May 21 represent the return of a once quite widespread phenomenon which over the last half century had largely disappeared.
Middle East Forum Online
The Capital Jewish Museum Murders: A Grim Milestone
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
May 29, 2025
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Jonathan Spyer
With over $2 trillion in investment commitments announced, historic conversations with Arab leaders held, and a new chapter in U.S.–Israel regional strategy unfolding, Donald Trump’s approach to the Middle East marks a seismic shift in American foreign policy. At the White House, Feb. 4, 2025.
Middle East Forum Online
Trump Goes Big in the Gulf — But Can Business Really Guarantee Israel’s Long-Term Security?
With over $2 Trillion in Investment Commitments Announced, Trump’s Approach Marks a Seismic Shift in American Foreign Policy
May 29, 2025
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Amine Ayoub
Ahmed al-Sharaa, leader of Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham, is shown with Syria's new flag.
Middle East Forum Online
Lifting U.S. Sanctions on Syria Outright Is Irresponsible and Reckless
Without a Broader Strategy and Guardrails, Lifting Sanctions Will Hand Keys to Syria’s Destroyers
May 29, 2025
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Loqman Radpey
Recent protests were sparked by a decision allowing headscarves for schoolgirls under 18.
Middle East Forum Observer
Turkish Cypriots: The Achilles’ Heel in Erdoğan’s Religious Strategy?
Recent Demonstrations Challenging Ankara’s Influence Drew More than 10,000 People Seeking Secularism
May 29, 2025
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Nicoletta Kouroushi
President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 7, 2025.
Middle East Forum Online
Eager for Political Wins, Trump Was Never Going to Wait Around for Israel
The U.S. President Is Plowing Ahead While Jerusalem Finds Itself Surprised Again and Again; But Israel Can Still Advance Its Core Interests If It Makes the Necessary Adjustments
May 28, 2025
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Lazar Berman
Hakan Fidan (R), Turkey’s former intelligence chief and current foreign minister, with Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus on Dec. 22, 2024.
MEF in the Media
Interview with Daniel Pipes: What Next for Syria?
Ahmed al-Sharaa Is a Jihadi from al-Qaeda and ISIS Background Who Works Closely with the Dynamic, Aggressive, and Ideological Regime in Türkiye
May 28, 2025
The Islamic Republic is not merely a rational state with negotiable interests; it is a revolutionary regime, committed to ideological expansionism, proxy warfare, and the managed pursuit of nuclear latency.
Middle East Forum Online
Why Washington Must Accept the Limits of Diplomacy with Iran
A New JCPOA-Style Agreement Would Not Stabilize the Middle East but Re-Empower Iran at the Precise Moment When Its Regional Project Is Weakening
May 28, 2025
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Hussein Aboubakr Mansour