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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The Blasphemy Law is Here to Stay

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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The Blasphemy Law is Here to Stay

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

The Blasphemy Law is Here to Stay

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

Jan 27, 2016

The Blasphemy Law is Here to Stay

By Jayson Casper

Among the many battlegrounds between liberal and conservative visions for Egypt is the blasphemy law, with Islam al-Beheiry and Fatima Naoot its latest victims.

North Africa

MENASource

Jan 27, 2016

Top News: Egypt’s Top Auditor Geneina Requests New Judge in Contempt of Judiciary Case

By EgyptSource

The head of Egypt’s official corruption watchdog Hisham Geneina has requested a new judge to oversee a probe against him over accusations, dating back to 2014, of contempt of the judiciary and insulting a senior judge. The request by Geneina, the head of the Central Auditing Organization (CAO), alleges a lack of impartiality on the […]

MENASource

Jan 27, 2016

Top News: Kurdish PYD not invited to peace talks in Geneva

By MENASource

Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) officials will not be invited to peace talks in Geneva, where negotiations for the opposition will be led by a Saudi-backed opposition group, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Wednesday.

MENASource

Jan 27, 2016

Five Years On: Rights and Freedoms

By Elissa Miller

Over the past five years, local and international rights organizations have criticized an increasingly restrictive climate in Egypt that has severely limited street protests, called into question media freedom, and seen a tightening grip on civil society organizations. Successive governments have done little to address grievances, many of which were key demands of the January […]

North Africa

MENASource

Jan 27, 2016

EconSource: Iraq Says Would Consider Deal on Global Oil Cuts

By EconSource

Iraqi Finance Minister Hoshiyar Zebari has said that Iraq is willing to take part in emergency meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in order to lift oil prices.

MENASource

Jan 26, 2016

Photo Essay: What Happened in Tahrir Square on January 25, 2016

By Jonathan Rashad

Five years ago, thousands of Egyptians took to the streets in mass protest. Their chants of “Bread, freedom, and social justice” filled Tahrir Square. The date they chose was no coincidence. January 25 marked national police day, and a key demand of the protests was an end to police brutality in Egypt. Eighteen days later, […]

North Africa

MENASource

Jan 26, 2016

Top News: New Libya unity government to be proposed within ten days

By MENASource

A revamped Libyan unity government will be proposed within ten days, an official said Tuesday, after the eastern House of Representatives rejected an initial lineup proposed by the Presidency Council.

MENASource

Jan 26, 2016

Top News: Egyptian Writer Fatima Naoot Sentenced to Three Years in Jail for “Contempt of Religion”

By EgyptSource

Writer Fatima Naoot was sentenced on Tuesday to three years in prison and fined EGP20,000 after being found guilty of contempt of religion, the second public figure to receive a jail term in less than a month for charges related to blasphemy. The jail sentence is effective immediately, meaning the ex-parliamentary candidate is set to […]

MENASource

Jan 26, 2016

EconSource: Egypt Raises Cap on Forex Deposits for Imports of Essential Goods

By EconSource

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said Tuesday it would raise its cap on foreign currency deposits to $250,000 a month for imports of food, capital machinery, manufacturing components, and medicines.

MENASource

Jan 26, 2016

The YPG-PKK connection

By Aaron Stein and Michelle Foley

In mid-July 2012, the Syrian government withdrew its forces from a large amount of territory along the Turkish border. This move allowed the Democratic Union Party (PYD), a Kurdish nationalist group linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)—a US- and Turkish-designated terrorist group—to take administrative and military control over the self-declared cantons of Efrin, Kobani […]

Syria
Turkey
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