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Middle East Forum (www.meforum.org) is a leading research center promoting American interests and protecting Western values in the Middle East. We provide expert analysis, insightful publications, and strategic policy recommendations to address regional challenges.

Hezbollah may be bloodied, but it is not beaten.Michael Rubin explains how the group remains resilient despite major bat...
09/25/2025

Hezbollah may be bloodied, but it is not beaten.

Michael Rubin explains how the group remains resilient despite major battlefield losses. Hezbollah’s financial networks, Iran’s funding, and diaspora smuggling operations ensure that it can still destabilize Lebanon and threaten Israel.

Policy warning: Unless the U.S. and its allies target Hezbollah’s money pipelines and demand its demobilization, the group will simply regenerate.

Read the full analysis here:
https://www.meforum.org/mef-online/hezbollah-is-bloodied-but-far-from-beaten

Hezbollah Isn’t Done. Despite Leadership Losses, Its Financing Remains Resilient

NEW MEF REPORT: Iran’s Shadow Empire: Part 3 The Middle East Forum’s new report documents how the IRGC has transformed S...
09/25/2025

NEW MEF REPORT: Iran’s Shadow Empire: Part 3

The Middle East Forum’s new report documents how the IRGC has transformed Syria into an Iranian outpost.

After Assad’s fall, Tehran moved quickly to build a parallel state on Syrian soil. The IRGC fortified battlefields with tunnels and bunkers, seized abandoned army bases, installed air defenses, engineered loyal proxy militias, and established global funding pipelines reaching into Europe and the U.S.

The result: a durable Iranian stronghold designed to outlast Assad and lock Tehran into the Levant for decades.

This is not just a Syrian issue. An entrenched IRGC presence on Israel’s border threatens U.S. allies, NATO interests, and regional stability. Washington cannot afford to treat Syria as a frozen conflict.

Read Part 3 of MEF’s Shadow Empire series:
https://www.meforum.org/mef-reports/irans-shadow-empire-the-islamic-revolutionary-guard-corps-military-infrastructure-in-syria

Catch up on Parts 1 & 2:
Part 1 — Undercover in Syria
https://www.meforum.org/mef-reports/undercover-in-syria-how-mef-built-a-secret-network-in-the-heart-of-a-conflict

Part 2 — Syria’s Clandestine Chemical Arsenal
https://www.meforum.org/mef-reports/syrias-clandestine-chemical-arsenal-the-complete-dossier

A Middle East Forum Report | Based on Information Gathered by the Middle East Forum, 2018-2024

🎙️ In MEF’s latest podcast, analyst Ahmad Sharawi (FDD) joins to discuss the future of the Druze in southern Syria — and...
09/25/2025

🎙️ In MEF’s latest podcast, analyst Ahmad Sharawi (FDD) joins to discuss the future of the Druze in southern Syria — and the implications for the Levant.

Hemmed in by Islamist forces, Iran’s militias, and Damascus, this small but resilient community has twice suffered deadly assaults since Assad’s fall.

What path forward remains? And what will their choices mean for the region’s balance of power?

👉 Watch now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vJsE98freo

The Druze of southern Syria, long known for their pragmatism, now face an uncertain future as the country’s landscape fractures. Caught between Islamist fact...

A bipartisan congressional letter — supported by the Middle East Forum — urges the administration to block U.S. fighter ...
09/25/2025

A bipartisan congressional letter — supported by the Middle East Forum — urges the administration to block U.S. fighter jet sales to Turkey.

Here’s why it matters:
• Turkey operates Russian S-400 missile systems, making any transfer a direct security threat.
• Selling F-16s or F-35s under these conditions violates U.S. law (CAATSA and NDAA Section 1245).
• Approving the sale without certification undermines America’s credibility and alliances.

This letter, supported by MEF and other organizations, makes clear that U.S. law and security are not negotiable.

Read more:

https://pappas.house.gov/media/press-releases/pappas-leads-bipartisan-group-in-opposing-unlawful-sale-of-fighter-jets-to-turkey-protecting-us-national-security

Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01), alongside Congressman Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), Congresswoman Dina Titus (NV-01), and Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11), co-chairs and vice chairs of the Hellenic Caucus, led a bipartisan group of their colleagues in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio an...

Iran’s Supreme Leader struck a triumphant tone in his latest remarks — but the façade of confidence hides a brittle regi...
09/25/2025

Iran’s Supreme Leader struck a triumphant tone in his latest remarks — but the façade of confidence hides a brittle regime.

As Shay Khatiri explains, the “calm” Khamenei points to is not proof of unity, but of fear, lack of leadership, and a paralyzing disorganization inside the Islamic Republic.

Triumphalism is not strength — it’s insecurity.

Read more:

https://www.meforum.org/mef-observer/khameneis-misguided-triumphalism

The Calm Iran’s Supreme Leader Ascribes to Unity Is Actually a Symptom of Disorganization, Lack of Leadership, and Fear of Initiative

For two decades, U.S. policy has favored the Kurdistan Regional Government as a supposed pro-American ally. But as Enlil...
09/25/2025

For two decades, U.S. policy has favored the Kurdistan Regional Government as a supposed pro-American ally.

But as Enlil Odisho shows, that policy has translated into dispossession and erasure for Iraq’s indigenous Assyrian Christians.

Odisho argues that the U.S. must stop enabling Kurdish domination and instead back Assyrian autonomy — a pro-Western, democratic ally the U.S. cannot afford to lose.

Read the full analysis:

Backing the Kurdistan Regional Government at the Expense of the Indigenous Assyrians Is Morally Indefensible and Strategically Short-Sighted

Dearborn’s mayor tried to drive a critic out of town — and city leaders refused to denounce Hamas or Hezbollah when chal...
09/25/2025

Dearborn’s mayor tried to drive a critic out of town — and city leaders refused to denounce Hamas or Hezbollah when challenged.

Dexter Van Zile shows how “Islamophobia” accusations are being weaponized to silence dissent and protect terror sympathizers in Michigan.

Read the full exposé:

https://www.meforum.org/fwi/fwi-research/the-new-jim-crow-in-dearborn

Dearborn Mayor Tries to Put Critic in His Place With 'Islamophobia' Accusation

Islamism has peaked — but the fight is far from over.In this episode of The Western Spirit, Daniel Pipes explains why th...
09/24/2025

Islamism has peaked — but the fight is far from over.

In this episode of The Western Spirit, Daniel Pipes explains why the Islamist wave crested a decade ago and is now in decline, with Iran’s looming collapse likely to mark its end.

He warns, however, that Palestinians have weaponized propaganda more effectively than ever — flipping October 7th into a narrative victory and swaying young Westerners against Israel.

Watch the full podcast now:

https://www.meforum.org/mef-in-the-media/islamism-is-failing-will-the-west-take-advantage-daniel-pipes-on-the-western-spirit-podcast

Daniel Pipes, MEF founder and chairman, explains why Islamism has already passed its peak, how the collapse of Iran could mark the end of the Islamist era, and why Palestinians have turned propaganda into their strongest weapon against Israel. He also dives into why younger generations in the West a...

Khamenei’s recent televised speech, delivered from a hidden location, clarifies what many in Iran already feel: the Supr...
09/24/2025

Khamenei’s recent televised speech, delivered from a hidden location, clarifies what many in Iran already feel: the Supreme Leader is cornered.

Mardo Soghom documents how he rejected negotiations, signals “no return,” and doubles down on policies that may invite harsher sanctions and more strikes. His authority is under strain, not strength.

Read the full story:

https://www.meforum.org/mef-observer/khameneis-speech-exposes-an-aging-ruler-looming-sanctions-and-no-escape

He ‘Is a Leader Without a Future, and Many Inside the Regime Know It,’ One Iranian Influencer Said of Iran’s Predicament and Humiliation

Armand Mostofi documents a startling reversal: once central to the regime’s foreign policy, pro-Palestinian sentiment am...
09/24/2025

Armand Mostofi documents a startling reversal: once central to the regime’s foreign policy, pro-Palestinian sentiment among ordinary Iranians has collapsed.

While Tehran still celebrates Hamas publicly, its attempts to mobilize popular enthusiasm now reach only loyalists and militia. Ordinary citizens, burdened by sanctions and economic decline, openly resent the regime’s Palestinian agenda.

Read the full analysis:
https://www.meforum.org/mef-observer/the-rise-and-fall-of-iranian-pro-palestinian-sentiment

As the Regime’s Involvement with Hamas, Hezbollah, and Other Terrorist Groups Became More Visible, Iran’s Economic Situation Deteriorated

Israel enters its sixth year of the Abraham Accords under growing tension. Lazar Berman argues that while the accords ha...
09/24/2025

Israel enters its sixth year of the Abraham Accords under growing tension. Lazar Berman argues that while the accords have survived the Gaza war, Israel’s willingness to use military force is now causing anxiety among its Arab partners.

These allies fear that normalization will turn into regional dominance—and that Israel’s military reach could rewrite, not stabilize, the balance of power.

Read the full article:

https://www.meforum.org/mef-online/as-abraham-accords-turn-5-israels-willingness-to-use-its-military-might-becomes-concern-for-allies

Historic Agreements Have Proven Resilient During Gaza War, but Jerusalem’s Aggressive Posture Post-October 7 Has Region Wondering if Israel Is Out to Become a Hegemon, Not Partner

Michael Rubin contends that the State Department’s hiring should prioritize proven experience over diversity targets.In ...
09/24/2025

Michael Rubin contends that the State Department’s hiring should prioritize proven experience over diversity targets.

In his view, no one should join the Foreign Service within ten years of graduating: candidates should arrive with real achievement in business, military, or leadership.
He warns that diversity-based metrics risk producing diplomats who look good on paper but lack substance.

Read the full argument:

https://www.meforum.org/mef-online/experience-not-diversity-should-drive-state-department-hiring

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