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: Russia and Syria signed open-ended agreement on military presence

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: Russia and Syria signed open-ended agreement on military presence

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: Russia and Syria signed open-ended agreement on military presence

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 15, 2016

Top News: Russia and Syria signed open-ended agreement on military presence

By MENASource

The Russian government on Thursday released the text of an agreement signed in Damascus on August 26, 2015, more than a month before Russia launched a bombing campaign against the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) and other “terrorists” at the request of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.

MENASource

Jan 15, 2016

Top News: Activists Detained in Egypt Ahead of Uprising Anniversary

By EgyptSource

Egyptian authorities are rounding up activists ahead of the fifth anniversary of the January 25 uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak and have detained at least five people this week. Doctors’ Syndicate member Taher Mokhtar and his two roommates, Ahmed Mohamed Hassan and Hossam al-Din Hamad, were arrested Thursday following a raid on their downtown […]

MENASource

Jan 15, 2016

EconSource: Qatar Raises Local Gasoline Price by 30 Percent

By EconSource

Qatar raised domestic prices of gasoline by 30 percent at midnight on Thursday, the official Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported, as low oil and gas prices put pressure on the national budget.

MENASource

Jan 14, 2016

The Brotherhood in the Shadow of the January 25 Anniversary

By Khaled Dawoud

Reports on growing differences within Egypt’s largest political Islamic group have been rife since the army’s removal of former President, and Muslim Brotherhood leader, Mohamed Morsi in 2013. Divisions over the Brotherhood’s strategy in fighting what they call a “military coup,” and the level of violence that should be involved, have become increasingly public. This […]

North Africa

MENASource

Jan 14, 2016

Western Options in a Muslim Battle of Ideas

By Matthew Bryza

Each act of terrorism prompts confusion and fear on both sides of the Atlantic. Television reports following each new attack are ritualized: policymakers condemn terrorists’ “cowardice” and “barbarism” but offer no policy antidote other than stepped-up policing at home and military operations in Syria and Iraq, while private citizens incredulously explain their neighbors “showed no […]

MENASource

Jan 14, 2016

Top Story: Thousands in Tunis mark revolt anniversary

By MENASource

Thousands gathered in the Tunisian capital Thursday to mark the fifth anniversary of the overthrow of longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in the uprising that inspired the Arab Spring. Tunisians thronged Habib Bourguiba Avenue, the main thoroughfare in central Tunis and the epicenter of the country’s revolution five years ago.

MENASource

Jan 14, 2016

Top News: Cabinet Approves Draft Bill Criminalizing Possession of ‘Terrorist Symbols’

By EgyptSource

The Egyptian cabinet approved on Wednesday a draft bill that punishes the possession and distribution of so-called “terrorist” symbols. The draft bill, which adds a new article to the existing criminal code, was proposed to the cabinet by the presidency.

MENASource

Jan 14, 2016

EconSource: Gulf States Prepare VAT Laws Ahead of Introduction from 2018

By EconSource

Gulf Arab states are putting the finishing touches on draft laws for value-added taxes (VAT) of up to 5 percent that could be imposed starting in 2018, officials said on Thursday.

MENASource

Jan 13, 2016

Same US Policy, Different Syria

By Faysal Itani

Critics have called the Obama Administration’s Middle East policy inconsistent and confused, but in occasional speeches and interviews, President Barack Obama makes clear his core views on US policy in the region. His 2016 State of the Union speech was one such occasion.

Syria

MENASource

Jan 13, 2016

Top News: Turkey identifies the Syrian bomber behind the Istanbul blast, detains one suspect

By MENASource

Turkish authorities identified the bomber in the January 12 attack in Istanbul’s Sultanahmet as a Syrian born in 1988, who had recently entered Turkey. Turkish media, including newspapers close to the government, identified him as Nabil Fadli, and said he was born in Saudi Arabia.

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