Some background:

The dominant religion in the Middle East is Islam,

while the dominant ethnic group is the Arabs. Most,
but not all, Arabs are Muslim (people who follow
Islam), and most, but not all Muslims in the Middle
East are Arab. Within Islam there are many divisions,
most notably, Sunni and Shia. Also, there are many
divisions within the Arab ethnicity.
Here are the primary divisions within Islam (more on
that later):

There are also other religions in the Middle East, most

notably Judaism, various forms of Christianity,

Zoroastrianism, Druze, and Yazidism. In addition, there

are plenty of other ethnic groups, such as the Jews,
the Kurds, the Armenians, the Circassians, the
Armenians, the Turks, the Persians, the Azeris, the
Pashtuns, the Druze, and many, many more. Feeling
confused? So am I. So here is a map which can help
you appreciate how many different ethnic groups
there are in the Middle East:

A few words on Islam:

Islam was founded in the seventh century by a man

named Mohammad. Muslims believe he is the last
prophet. After his death, some Muslims insisted that
only members of his family could be the Caliph
(Islamic leader), while other believed that any faithful
Muslim could take on this role.
Remember that complicated chart of divisions within
Islam I showed a while back? Lets break it up.

Islam can be divided into four primary sects: Sunni

(the largest), Shia (the second largest), Ahmadiyya (a
small sect which broke away from Sunni Islam), and
Khawarij (a tiny, mostly insignificant sect which broke
away during the beginning of Islam).

Sunni:

Sunnis believe that the Caliph does not need to be

related to Mohammad. The majority of Sunnis follow
one of the four Madhhabs (schools of Sunni Islam),
while some, such as members of the extreme
Wahhabi movement, reject the Madhhabs entirely.
Also, some Sunnis are Sufis, or Islamic mystics (Sufis
typically follow one of the Madhhabs).

Shia:

Shiites only accept members of Mohammads family

to hold leadership positions. They are a minority in all
Islamic countries, with the exception of Iran.
Radical Muslims:
Radical Muslims can belong to any one of the divisions
of Islam. Radical Islam is not an organized branch of
Islam, and as such, radical Muslims dont share a
single set of beliefs. However, overall, radical Muslims
tend to interpret Islam in an extreme fashion and
support violence in the name of Islam (especially
against the West).
Three of the largest and most important radical
Islamic groups are the Taliban, ISIS, and al-Qaeda.
Most members of the Taliban are Hanafi Sunni, while
al-Qaeda and ISIS are Wahhabi Sunni.
Now, for the actual situation in the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia vs. Iran:
Saudi Arabia is the dominant Sunni power, while Iran
is the dominant Shia (and Persian, as opposed to

Arab) power. They both try to extend their influence

through the entire Middle East. Because of this, the
rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia is typically a
projection of the greater Suuni vs. Shia conflict. For
example, they back different sides in the wars in
Yemen and Syria (more on that later).
Recently, Saudi Arabia executed a Shia cleric (Nimr alNimr) who was supportive of Iran and critical of the
Saudi monarchy. In response, the Iranian government
strongly condemned the execution. Tensions between
the two countries escalated until they broke off
diplomatic relations. Meanwhile, Shiites across the
world took to the streets to further criticize Saudi
Arabia:

Yemen:

Yemen has been at war since 2011. The war is

between the parts of the old Sunni government which
survived by being supported by Saudi Arabia, and the
Houthi rebels (who
are
Shia, and backed by
Iran). The Houthis
captured Yemens
capital (Sanaa),
while the old
government works
out
of Aden, a city in southern Yemen. To add to the
complexity, both al-Qaeda and ISIS are involved in the
fighting.

Iran Deal:
In 1979, a revolution in Iran
toppled the Shah (king)
and brought an Islamic
government to power. Ever
since then, its been
making threats against
Israel, building up its military, and maintaining a
nuclear program (although whether it wants to build a
nuclear bomb is debatable).
In 2015, the P5+1 (US, UK, China, Russia, France, and
Germany) reached an agreement with Iran, designed
to halt Irans nuclear program. For more on that:
Noam Kaiser's answer to What are the pros and cons

of the Iran Nuclear Agreement announced on July 14,

2015?.
Iraq and Syria:
Syrias old government was mostly secular and ruled
by Assad, a dictator. Syrian rebels decided to remove
him from power and establish a democracy. The
largest rebel group, the Free Syrian Army, is fairly
moderate. They are armed by the US and the EU. AlNusra is another rebel group. They are radical
Wahhabi Sunnis, and they are armed and funded by
Saudi Arabia. They also want to remove Assad, but
they want to establish an Islamic dictatorship instead.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah, a radical Shia group from
Lebanon, decided to get involved as well. They are
funded and armed by Iran, and most of their activities
involve ruling Lebanon and attacking Israel.
Iraq is a whole different animal. The old government
was installed by the US and is very weak. In Iraq, a
branch of the radical Islamic group al-Qaeda became
al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). AQI took over parts of Iraq and
Syria, and became the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria
(ISIS), although they now call themselves the Islamic
State (IS).
To add to the confusion, foreign powers, like the US,
Russia, and Iran, got involved with the war as well.
Syria, and to a lesser extent, Iraq, are now in ruins.
Many people were forced to become refugees:

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict:
Once upon a time (~2000
years ago), the land
between the Jordan River
and Mediterranean Sea was
inhabited almost solely by
Jews. They are not Arab or
Muslim. The Roman Empire
conquered the land,
destroyed the Jewish temple, and forced some Jews
(not all, or even most) into exile. Others left by
themselves, while still others, converted to
Christianity and Islam. These religions were
introduced by foreign invaders, who conquered the
land after the Romans. A tiny minority of Jews
remained, and stayed Jewish.
Many foreigners settled down in the land. The
descendants of the foreigners are Arabs, who call
themselves Palestinians, and practice Islam (to a
lesser extent, Christianity). However, in the late
1800s, many Jews started returning to the land.
The Palestinians didnt like it, so they started fighting
the Jews. In 1947, the United Nations voted to split the
land into a Jewish state and an Arab Palestinian state.
The Arabs wanted the entire land, while the Jews, for
the most part, were very happy. In 1948, the Jews (as
planned) declared the State of Israel in the Jewish
areas, while the Arabs didnt declare their state. The

next day, five Arab armies invaded Israel. There was a

big war, and many people died, and many bad things
happened to people on both sides. Many Palestinian
Arabs became refugees and ran away to Arab
countries, while Jews in Arab countries became
refugees and ran away to Israel.
Israel absorbed its refugees, while none of the Arab
countries, except Jordan, absorbed theirs.
In 1967, Israel fought another defensive war with its
neighbors. In the war, it conquered the West Bank
from Jordan, the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula
from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria. Israel
later signed peace treaties with Jordan and Egypt.
Egypt got the Sinai back, but refused to take Gaza,
while Jordan refused to take the West Bank back. Syria
refuses to negotiate. Israelis also starting building
towns, called settlements, in all these areas. When
Israel gave back the Sinai, it evacuated its
settlements there.
In 1964, Palestinians abroad established the
Palestinian Liberation Organization, or the PLO. The
PLO promised to liberate Palestine, or eliminate
Israel and establish a Palestinian state in Israel, the
West Bank and Gaza. They engaged in terrorism
against Israel, then and now.
In 1993, Israel agreed to recognize the PLO as the sole
legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, in
the form of the Palestinian Authority. In return, the PA

agreed to end terrorism, but this never actually

happened.
Meanwhile, Hamas (a terrorist organization) was
created, won power in Gaza, and fires rockets at
Israel. Every couple of years, there is a war between
Israel and Hamas. Hamas fired more rockets than
usual, while Israel attacks building where Hamas
launches rockets from. Thanks to Gazas high
population density, lack of civilian bomb shelters, and
Hamas use of human shields, the casualties are
always far higher in Gaza than in Israel.
Sadly, the leaders in power on both sides really have
no interest in peace. However, many prominent
figures in the Israeli government support and work
towards peace.
Turkey:
The modern Turkish state was founded by a man
named Ataturk. He wanted a country which was
modern and secular, and didnt want any Islamic
influence in the Turkish government. He also
envisioned a democracy, with equal political and
social rights for everyone. Turkey more or less
remained a secular democracy for many years,
however, Turkeys current leader, Erdogan, wants
more Islam in the government
The secular military was not happy, so parts of the
army decided to stage a coup and depose Erdogan.
The coup was not successful, so Erdogan arrested

many members of the military. He also blamed the

coup on Gulen, a Turkish man living in exile in the
USA, who is against Erdogan and preaches a
moderate version of Islam. Erdogan ended up
arresting about 60,000 public servants, whom he
claims are all followers of Gulen.