MENASource

As the MENA region continues to be the epicenter of news headlines, the Atlantic Council’s MENASource is a hub for thought-provoking and hard-hitting analyses about the latest trends, ideas, and debates. This online publication provides fast reactions and in-depth commentary on breaking news and key regional topics by a diverse team of experts and contributors.

MENASource brings you up-close to a region at the epicenter of geo-political headlines. It is the Atlantic Council’s hub for in-depth commentary about breaking news, key topics, and trends from our team of experts on the Middle East and North Africa.

The views expressed in MENASource are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the views of the Atlantic Council, its staff, or its supporters.

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Dispatch from Beirut: Israel-Hezbollah talks risk falling into a failed, decades-long pattern

MENASource Mar 26, 2026

As Iran attacks, the US should provide air defense for Iraqi Kurdistan

Washington faces a choice: Continue to defer to Baghdad’s procedural objections while Iran conducts unimpeded strikes on Kurdish territory or acknowledge the strategic reality and take decisive action.

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Dispatch from Beirut: Israel-Hezbollah talks risk falling into a failed, decades-long pattern

MENASource Mar 17, 2026

A crisis in Egypt could be a warning sign for the global economy 

By Khalid Azim

Market watchers should keep an eye on Egypt as an oil shock could cause financial turmoil.
Economy & Business International Financial Institutions
Dispatch from Beirut: Israel-Hezbollah talks risk falling into a failed, decades-long pattern

MENASource Mar 11, 2026

Three lessons from Libya for the war in Iran

By Frank Talbot

Any outside power using force to attain a political outcome must define the end state it seeks, align coalition partners around a shared strategy, and establish credible escalation controls.
Conflict Iran

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MENASource

May 5, 2026

Dispatch from Beirut: Israel-Hezbollah talks risk falling into a failed, decades-long pattern

By Nicholas Blanford

As the war with Israel revives Hezbollah and divides Lebanon, the ongoing negotiations echo failed 1983 talks.

Conflict Israel

MENASource

May 4, 2026

Syria needs a trustworthy digital ecosystem to support its revival

By Nadia Farra

Robust digital infrastructure, digital literacy, and cybersecurity are no longer luxuries for high-income nations but fundamental requirements for national stability and economic resilience.

Freedom and Prosperity Inclusive Growth

MENASource

Apr 20, 2026

The Iran war has forced the US-Gulf alliance out of the shadows

By Eric Alter

The Iran war is testing whether the informal strategic system the United States has assembled with its Gulf partners and Israel is strong enough to hold up amid a regional conflict.

Defense Policy Iran

MENASource

Apr 20, 2026

‘They have been exposed’: The Iran war upends Gulf states’ security and business model

By Stefanie Hausheer Ali

The Iran war threatens the sense of security, prosperity, and opportunity that the Gulf states have spent years cultivating as they seek to diversify their economies away from oil.

Critical Infrastructure Policy Geopolitics & Energy Security

MENASource

Apr 15, 2026

The Iran war is not about China

By Jonathan Fulton

China is behaving like a normal external power with interests in the region, not like a crisis manager shaping outcomes.

China Conflict

MENASource

Apr 9, 2026

Egypt’s foreign minister: One cannot secure waterways ‘while ignoring the political order of the states’ along the shore

By Maisoon H. Kafafy

Maisoon H. Kafafy reached out to Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty for his thoughts on this turbulent moment and the instability in the Horn of Africa.

East Africa Ethiopia

MENASource

Apr 7, 2026

American AI leadership can open a new chapter for Middle East integration

By Judd Olanoff

Countries will need access to cloud and compute like they need water and power plants. And they are turning to US companies to provide it.

Artificial Intelligence Israel

MENASource

Apr 7, 2026

Iraq’s oil export vulnerability exposes the cost of unresolved disputes

By Yesar Al-Maleki

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz shows how Iraq’s energy security depends as much on political coordination as on infrastructure.

Geopolitics & Energy Security Infrastructure

MENASource

Apr 1, 2026

Jordan’s regional connectivity begins in Riyadh

By Jesse Marks

Jordan must take the lead in making economic interconnectivity a reality with its closest regional partners.

Economy & Business Infrastructure

MENASource

Apr 1, 2026

The US should rethink Iran as a Southwest Asia challenge

By Mike Schoengold Beatty

Conventional instinct to treat Iran as another Iraq or Yemen risks misallocating resources and missing the real challenges ahead.

Iran Security & Defense
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