Middle East Forum

09/05/2025

The latest Fall Middle East Quarterly is out—and it hits hard.

Learn how Syria’s Druze now face unprecedented attacks amidst Assad’s collapse; how Iran is projecting espionage power into Sweden; what it would take to counter the growing Houthi threat to 15% of global maritime traffic; and how Hizb ut-Tahrir is orchestrating a revolutionary ideological war.

Top-tier book reviews round it out.

Read the full run-down:

https://www.meforum.org/press-releases/fall-meq-explores-syrias-future-irans-spycraft-in-sweden-the-houthi-threat-and-hizb-ut-tahrirs-playbook

PHILADELPHIA – September 5, 2025 – The Fall 2025 issue of Middle East Quarterly brings timely, accessible analysis on post-Assad Syria, Iranian intelligence operations in Scandinavia, the Houthi challenge to freedom of navigation, and the ideological strategy of Hizb ut-Tahrir—plus incisive bo...

09/05/2025

Happening now – The Forum Roundtable: Islamism and Antisemitism at the United Nations, featuring Hillel Neuer, Avi Bell, Anne Herzberg, and Lauri Regan.

Register to watch live here:
https://riverside.fm/webinar/registration/eyJzbHVnIjoibGl2ZS1zdHJlYW1zLXE4QTRlIiwiZXZlbnRJZCI6IjY4YjQ2OTk0ZGIyNjM3ZTc2YzVmZTkwYyIsInByb2plY3RJZCI6IjY4YjQ2OTk0ZGIyNjM3NDZhNzVmZTkwOSJ9

09/05/2025

The Iran Prosperity Project promises a sweeping energy revival—but Umud Shokri reveals its fragility.

Despite promises of modernization, Iran’s grid is crumbling: power plants run at 25% efficiency, and nearly 40% of gas leaks away.

The plan assumes $120–150B in freed assets and international support yet offers no mechanism to counter corruption or resistance from entrenched elites. Without political reform, the blueprint collapses under its own weight.

Read the full story:

https://www.meforum.org/mef-observer/the-iran-prosperity-projects-energy-goals-amid-constraints-and-risks

The Energy Plan Aims High but Will Falter Due to Iran’s Complexity, Corruption, and Inefficiency

09/05/2025

Today at 11:30am ET: Join us for our monthly Forum Roundtable webinar on the topic of "Islamism and Antisemitism at the UN" featuring Hillel Neuer, Anne Herzberg, Lauri Regan, and Avi Bell.

Register here:

09/05/2025

As the fall term begins, campus normalcy stands threatened by SJP chapters openly calling for Israel's destruction.

In Addressing Campus SJP Problems, Part 1, A.J. Caschetta surveys university responses—from conciliatory payouts like the $100,000 Maryland paid, to probation, multi-year suspensions, and outright bans at schools like UCLA and UIUC.

It's not ideology—they’re dealing with organized hostility.

Read the full analysis:

https://www.meforum.org/mef-online/addressing-campus-sjp-problems-part-1-some-approaches

Universities Wrestle With How To Confront Students for Justice in Palestine, With Responses Ranging From Payouts and Probation to Multi-Year Suspensions and Permanent Bans

09/05/2025

CAIR’s fury isn’t a defense—it’s a confession.

After MEF’s Benjamin Baird exposed $25 million in DHS grants flowing to terrorism-linked groups, the Department of Homeland Security moved swiftly to cut $8 million from radical nonprofits. Now CAIR strains credibility by blaming Israel.

Read how taxpayer dollars were diverted to extremist organizations—and why reform is urgent.

Check out the full analysis:

https://www.meforum.org/fwi/hamas-aligned-cair-outraged-after-dhs-cuts-funding-to-terror-linked-islamist-groups

CAIR Blames Israel for $8 Million in Security Grants Stripped from Extremist Groups Following MEF Report

09/04/2025

ICYMI: MEF’s Israel Insider podcast, hosted by Ahnaf Kalam, takes on Israel’s renewed move into Gaza City.

Guest Ashley Perry—an adviser to MEF’s Israel office and former adviser to Israel’s foreign minister—explains the political, diplomatic, and military factors driving this campaign. With years of experience inside Israel’s ministries,

Perry sheds light on how battlefield developments connect to strategy and diplomacy. Watch the clip here, and check out the full podcast for more insights.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FYHBVwNxoY

Israel’s move to conquer Gaza City has begun. What are the political, diplomatic and military considerations involved in the operation? Ashley Perry is an...

09/04/2025

When a fact goes viral but never hits the headlines, something is broken.

Gregg Roman, Director of the Middle East Forum, told Congress that nearly all U.S. aid to Gaza went to Hamas zones.

The Times of Israel reports how his testimony spread to millions online—yet major outlets erased it. Shabo shows how ignoring sworn testimony lets propaganda shape the conversation instead of evidence.

Read the full critique:

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/kristofs-looking-glass-and-hamass-information-war/

From the blog of Seth Shabo at The Times of Israel

09/04/2025

The mask slipped in Tehran. A regime-sponsored Shajarian concert meant to display vitality instead exposed fragility.

As Mardo Soghom reports, Iranians mocked the gesture as propaganda from leaders cornered by sanctions and popular anger.

Instead of renewal, the spectacle underscored decline.

Read the full analysis:

https://www.meforum.org/mef-observer/iranian-regime-falters-as-sponsored-concert-backfires

Social Media Campaigns Urged People to Attend the Concert and Seize the Chance to Chant Anti-Government Slogans

09/04/2025

A Viennese court ruled that arbitration agreements based on Shariah law are enforceable—so long as they don’t violate Austria’s legal bedrock.

The Freedom Party (FPÖ) decries it as a victory for “parallel justice,” while secular Turkish groups argue that the ruling undermines constitutional norms.

Jules Gomes explores how this case may reshape Austria’s secular foundations and spark a fierce legal and social battle.

https://www.meforum.org/fwi/fwi-news/rightists-and-turkish-secularists-oppose-shariah-in-austria

Critics Warn of ‘Parallel Justice’

09/04/2025

For decades, Cyprus was treated as marginal to American interests.

Nicoletta Kouroushi shows why that calculation is outdated. U.S. military cooperation with Cyprus is expanding, energy corridors are passing through its waters, and disaster-response partnerships are strengthening.

Far from peripheral, Cyprus is emerging as a critical anchor for American power in the Eastern Mediterranean, linking Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.

Read the full story:

https://www.meforum.org/mef-observer/why-cyprus-matters-for-u-s-strategy

Cooperation Expands Ties and Improves Capacity for Cyprus, and Gives the U.S. a Reliable Partner with Ports and Airfields near Regional Crises

09/03/2025

The Druze community in Syria has endured massacres, abandonment, and growing insecurity.

As Sirwan Kajjo writes, this has pushed them to unify under their spiritual leadership and demand autonomy.

For the Druze, autonomy is no longer aspirational—it is survival itself.

Read the full analysis:

https://www.meforum.org/mef-observer/do-the-druze-need-autonomy-to-survive-in-syria

Securing Regional or International Backing Long Has Been a Defining Feature for All Major Actors of the Conflict