05/29/2026
The Iran war did not end the region’s strategic struggle. It clarified it.
At MEF’s 2026 Policy Conference, the panel “The War and the Region: What Has Changed, What Remains the Same” examined how the conflict has reshaped the Middle East - and where the old realities still hold.
Brig. Gen. Yossi Kuperwasser framed the war as one episode in a longer confrontation between the Iranian regime and the West, arguing that victory requires stamina, clarity, and the willingness to sustain pressure.
Rob Satloff warned that Israel still lacks a coherent strategy for what should replace Hamas rule in Gaza, while Cliff May argued that the war delayed Iran’s nuclear progress but did not solve the problem.
Hussein Aboubakr Mansour added that opponents of the Abraham Accords will use the war to argue that closer ties with Israel make Gulf states more vulnerable to Iranian retaliation.
The panel offered a clear message: the war changed the regional equation, but the core challenge remains the same - confronting Iran’s ambitions with strategy, endurance, and political will.
Highlights from MEF’s 2026 Policy Conference.
05/28/2026
At MEF’s 2026 Policy Conference, the “Day After Tehran” panel brought together Jim Hanson, Mehrdad Marty Youssefiani, Ari Morgenstern, and COL Eric Navarro for a strategic discussion of Iran’s degraded military capabilities, possible regime fractures, the Iranian opposition, and the regional alignments shifting around the conflict.
COL Eric Navarro addressed the kinetic side of the war, including U.S. efforts to degrade Iran’s missile and drone capabilities and the long-standing strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz.
Mehrdad Marty Youssefiani assessed the Iranian opposition inside the country and across the diaspora, including public sentiment toward the war and whether opposition groups could translate discontent into serious pressure on the regime.
Ari Morgenstern examined how Iran’s attacks on Gulf states may have backfired, strengthening regional alignment with the United States and Israel rather than weakening it.
The panel reflected one of the central themes of the conference: military success matters only if it is matched by political strategy, regional coordination, and a serious plan for what follows.
05/27/2026
Keynote moments from MEF’s 2026 Policy Conference in Washington.
This year’s featured addresses examined Israel, Iran, Lebanon, U.S. strategy, regional power, and the civilizational challenges facing the West, with remarks from Dr. Sebastian Gorka, Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism; Morgan Ortagus, U.S. Special Envoy for Lebanon; and Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s Ambassador to the United States.
Thank you to our speakers, guests, and attendees for helping make this year’s conference a consequential gathering.
05/27/2026