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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Top News: ISIS Attacks Libya’s Sirte; Government Urges Air Strikes As UNSMIL Urges Cooperation

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: ISIS Attacks Libya’s Sirte; Government Urges Air Strikes As UNSMIL Urges Cooperation

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: ISIS Attacks Libya’s Sirte; Government Urges Air Strikes As UNSMIL Urges Cooperation

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

Aug 17, 2015

Top News: ISIS Attacks Libya’s Sirte; Government Urges Air Strikes As UNSMIL Urges Cooperation

By MENASource

The Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) beheaded twelve people and hung them on crosses during a battle in Sirte. ISIS crushed a revolt by a Salafi Muslim group in the past few days, killing seventy people as armed residents trying to break its grip on the city. In separate violence on Sunday, gunmen fired on the airport of the […]

MENASource

Aug 17, 2015

Top News: Egypt’s Sisi Signs Counterterrorism Law

By EgyptSource

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi signed into law a controversial anti-terrorism legislation that establishes stiffer prison sentences for terror-related offenses, heavy fines for journalists who publish “false news” and a special judicial circuit for terrorism cases.

MENASource

Aug 17, 2015

EconSource: Turkish Lira Hits Another Record Low on Political Uncertainty

By EconSource

Turkey’s lira has hit a record low and lost 3 percent since talks between the ruling AK Party and the main opposition CHP failed, setting the stage for a snap election and more investor uncertainty.

MENASource

Aug 14, 2015

Deaths in Egypt Prisons Renew Debate on Deteriorating Conditions

By Khaled Dawoud

In a statement about the death of al-Jama’a al-Islamiya’s Essam Derbala at maximum security Aqrab Prison on August 8, the ministry of interior declared the cause of death was “natural.”Derbala, the statement said, was taken to hospital after complaining of fatigue, where he died as a result of circulatory collapse. 

North Africa

MENASource

Aug 14, 2015

Top News: ISIS kills Thirty-Eight In Sirte, House Members Call On International Community For Help

By MENASource

The Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) threatened to use gas against people in Sirte unless attacks against its members stop. Thirty-eight members of the Ferjani tribe were killed by ISIS, which had been shelling a residential area in Sirte. Fighting in the center of town earlier this week resulted in the deaths of two ISIS commanders Abu […]

MENASource

Aug 14, 2015

Top News: Egypt Marks Raba’a Massacre Anniversary

By EgyptSource

Egyptian police bolstered their presence in the capital on Friday in anticipation of protests on the second anniversary of the violent dispersal by security forces of Islamist demonstrators, in which at least 700 supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi died.

MENASource

Aug 14, 2015

EconSource: Turkey Central Bank Attempts to Stem Lira Slide

By EconSource

Turkey’s central bank lowered the cost of dollar borrowing for a fourth time this year, seeking to halt the lira’s slide after the breakdown of talks on the formation of a new government sent financial markets tumbling.

MENASource

Aug 13, 2015

Can US Action Stop the War in Yemen?

By Nabeel Khoury and April Longley Alley

US-ally Saudi Arabia is leading a war against Houthi rebels in Yemen. But after nearly five months, the Houthis have entrenched themselves in captured territory, al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) have gained ground, and the war has created a humanitarian catastrophe, with over 4,000 dead and aid agencies warning of impending famine.

Saudi Arabia Yemen

MENASource

Aug 13, 2015

Top News: ISIS Claims Truck Bombing at Baghdad Market That Killed Sixty-Seven

By MENASource

A massive truck bomb ripped through a popular Baghdad market in a predominantly Shia neighborhood Thursday morning, leaving at least sixty-seven dead and another 150 wounded. ISIS soon after claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it targeted a gathering place of Shias and vowing to conduct more attacks.

MENASource

Aug 13, 2015

Top News: ISIS Claims Killing of Croatian Hostage at the Hands of Sinai State

By EgyptSource

The Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) said in an audio broadcast on Thursday that its Egyptian affiliate—the Sinai State, formerly known as Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis—had killed a Croatian hostage, a day after a photograph of a beheaded corpse purported to be that of the Croat was circulated by the group’s supporters.

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