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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Top News: Putin says groups in Syria ready to comply with ceasefire; Russian air strikes intensify

MENASource
Jan 14, 2026

Voices from Iran: As rejection of government reaches all-time high, Iranians also wary of foreign intervention

If Trump is serious about peace, stability, and a lasting legacy, the path forward does not run through air strikes or transactional deals with a failing theocracy.

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Top News: Putin says groups in Syria ready to comply with ceasefire; Russian air strikes intensify

MENASource
Jan 28, 2026

Trump’s National Security Strategy doesn’t downgrade the Middle East, it redefines it

By
Kristian Alexander

Trump’s strategy is a sophisticated refinement of “America First.” For the Gulf, the implications are significant, but manageable.

Middle East
National Security

Top News: Putin says groups in Syria ready to comply with ceasefire; Russian air strikes intensify

MENASource
Jan 13, 2026

Eight questions (and expert answers) on the SDF’s withdrawal from Syria’s Aleppo

By
Atlantic Council experts

Our experts unpack why violence erupted, what it means for Kurdish safety and integration in Syria, and how Washington is engaging.

Civil Society
Conflict

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Content

MENASource

Feb 26, 2016

Top News: Putin says groups in Syria ready to comply with ceasefire; Russian air strikes intensify

By MENASource

All parties expected to take part in a cessation of hostilities in Syria have said they are ready to do so, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday, warning the peace process would be difficult nonetheless at a meeting with the FSB security service in Moscow.

MENASource

Feb 26, 2016

Top News: Kerry Defends US Stance on Egypt

By EgyptSource

Secretary of State John Kerry acknowledged a “deterioration” in Egyptian freedoms in testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Committee Thursday, but defended the administration’s decision to waive human rights conditions on aid to the country. “There are disturbing arrests, there are disturbing sentences,” he said, but also pointed to Egypt’s strategic importance to the United […]

MENASource

Feb 26, 2016

EconSource: Morocco Suspends Contacts With EU Over Court Ruling on Farm Trade

By EconSource

Morocco said Thursday it had suspended contact with European Union (EU) institutions over a court ruling invalidating a farm trade accord.

MENASource

Feb 25, 2016

Libya: Thinking the Unthinkable

By Karim Mezran

Observers and commentators have floated many ideas on how best to support the Government of National Accord (GNA) born out of 18 months of UN-led negotiations. They range from advice to Western nations on how to implement an international stabilization force to provide security for the new government in Tripoli to strongly discouraging any foreign […]

Libya

MENASource

Feb 25, 2016

Top News: Egypt Sentences Coptic Students to Five Years in Jail for ‘Insulting Islam’

By EgyptSource

An Egyptian court convicted four Coptic Christian teenagers for contempt of Islam on Thursday, sentencing three to five years in prison, the maximum penalty for blasphemy. A fourth student, who is under 18, was referred to a juvenile detention facility.

MENASource

Feb 25, 2016

Top News: Syria army excludes rebel town near Damascus from truce

By MENASource

On Wednesday, Syria’s army said it would exclude an important rebel bastion near Damascus from a ceasefire set to begin at the weekend because rebel forces there include jihadists.

MENASource

Feb 25, 2016

EconSource: Gulf States to Introduce VAT in 2018

By EconSource

Emirati Minister of State for Finance Affairs Obaid al-Tayer said the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states are expected to agree on a framework for a value-added tax by June, with implementation starting January 1, 2018.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Feb 24, 2016

Top News: French special forces waging secret war in Libya

By MENASource

French special forces and intelligence commandos are engaged in covert operations against Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) militants in Libya in conjunction with the United States and Britain, the French newspaper Le Monde reported on Wednesday.

MENASource

Feb 24, 2016

EconSource: Saudi Arabia Rules Out Production Cuts

By EconSource

Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said Tuesday he was confident that more countries would join an agreement to freeze oil output at existing levels in talks expected in March. However, he effectively ruled out production cuts by major crude producers anytime soon.

MENASource

Feb 24, 2016

Top News: Italian Student May Have Been Killed for Revenge Says Interior Ministry

By EgyptSource

Egypt’s Interior Ministry says investigators believe that “personal reasons” were behind the torture and murder of the Italian student Giulio Regeni, whose body was found in Cairo this month, over a week after he went missing. The ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that investigation had uncovered no clues to culprits but said “the […]

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