Middle East Forum Podcast

Iranian nuclear ambitions, the Hamas-Israel conflict, Red Sea shipping crisis, a rogue Türkiye, growing Chinese influence: as usual, the United States and its allies face many major problems in the Middle East. How can Americans develop a comprehensive and intelligible policy? How do the U.S. presidential elections impact regional calculations? What can be learned from past, bitter experience? Joh...

Through the Cold War, 1945-90, Washington pursued a successful Middle East policy that kept the Soviets out, oil flowing, and Israel secure. From 1990 until now, however, overambitious policies aimed at fundamentally reshaping the region have resulted in recurring failure and ongoing instability. What are key U.S. interests now? How can Washington get its Middle East mojo back? What can it learn f...

Ever since Australia voted in favor of the UN Partition Plan for Palestine in 1947, it has given strong bi-partisan support to Israel. But recent signs suggest this has changed under the Labor government headed by Anthony Albanese since May 2022. What has caused this shift? Has something major happened? Where are things headed? Joel Burnie is the executive manager at the Australia-Israel & Jew...

The current protests on US campuses uncannily resemble the rallies and demonstrations that marked the revolutionary era of Iran. In 1978, Iranian universities, long sites of political ferment, became staging grounds for anti government activities and operations. Students demonstrated in Teheran, chanting ‘Marg Bar Shah’ - death to the Shah. It was Iranian students who invaded the US Embassy in Teh...

One thing became clear following Oct. 7 as campuses across the United States erupted with extreme and sometimes violent hostility against Israel and the United States as well as many instances of intimidation, harassment, and disruption to silence pro-Israel voices: students and faculty from the Middle East had a disproportionate role. This phenomenon points to a quiet revolution underway in highe...

On the 30th anniversary of the Oslo Accords, Daniel Pipes recalls the great expectations that agreement created. He then reviews twelve Israeli errors that turned them into disaster and concludes by reviewing which lessons were or were not learned. Daniel Pipes, a historian, has led the Middle East Forum since its founding in 1994. He taught at Chicago, Harvard, Pepperdine, and the U.S. Naval War...

Over the past decade, Bangladeshi Islamists have murdered dozens of anti-Islamist activists and intellectuals. For years, they have also targeted Asad Noor, an atheist, former Muslim, and human rights activist who fled his native Bangladesh due to persecution following statements he made about Muhammad, Islam, and the oppression of religious minorities. This campaign recently escalated, as Islamis...

The Islamic Republic of Iran has been a central source of instability globally since it came to power in 1979; but do Westerners comprehend the ideology that drives the mullahs and the strategies they deploy to undermine their enemies’ security? Have attempts (such as the JCPOA) to restrain Iranian bellicosity inadvertently compromised democratic values? What is the correct policy toward Tehran? C...

The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement has become a powerful force in the United States, working to isolate Israel and its American supporters. Although BDS raises Constitutional questions, it does have First Amendment protection. That being the case, how can opponents of BDS effectively fight the movement? What other legal tactics exist? How best to expose its harmful nature? Eugene Vo...

As Lebanon suffers from a collapsing economy and an institutional void, recent developments point to an important bifurcation: Hezbollah’s aggressive widening of power is causing a growing popular discontent toward both the group and its Iranian sponsor. Can Hezbollah sustain its control as its growing influence and unpopularity converge? What are its long-range plans? And what policy opportunitie...

Sporadic fighting since 1992 between Azerbaijan and Armenia has increasingly involved their unsavory neighbors – Türkiye, Russia, Iran - as well as China. How can Washington work both for human rights and its own national interests in this difficult situation? Just back from a trip to the region, Gregg Roman offers a policy that simultaneously promotes Western norms without driving either country...

Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah a year ago gave clear ideological and religious authorization for escalated confrontation with Israel, and tensions have duly risen since then. Recent weeks have seen Hizbullah provocations reach a level not seen in nearly two decades. How has Hizbullah evolved since the last major fighting in 2006? How prepared is the IDF for war with it? What are the likely impl...

Koran burnings in Sweden and Denmark recall the Danish cartoon crisis of 2006: how to reconcile free speech and criticism of Islam with the fury of both local Muslims and Muslim-majority governments. Is compromise possible? Will the Scandinavian governments bend to Islamist demands? What are the implications for Sweden’s entry into NATO? Naser Khader is an author, academic, and former member of th...

Nearly all of Israel's conventional wars have been against multiple Arab states, for its adversaries expected that attacks from all directions could overwhelm its forces. This logic remains in place, making it likely to be the scenario of the next war, this time with Iran, its allies and proxies. This logic failed in the past; will it again? What is the role of Israel’s internal upheaval? How much...

U.S. diplomats are quietly working on a Saudi-Israel peace agreement that could dramatically transform the Middle East, effectively ending the Arab state conflict with Israel and binding Riyadh into a new alliance with Washington. What do each of the three parties want from the other? What are the main obstacles to a deal? What repercussions might an agreement have for such issues as Saudi domesti...

The Middle East Forum keeps close tabs on thousands of Islamist activists and groups, cataloging their internal politics, and writing up their activities at its new media outlet, Focus on Western Islamism. But, beyond reporting and analyzing, what is the Forum doing to combat Islamist influence? What impact is it having? What are the key trends? Benjamin Baird is director of MEF Action, the Forum'...