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: Presidents Obama and Essebsi to Meet; Countries Sign MOU, Agree to Boost Economic, Security Ties

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: Presidents Obama and Essebsi to Meet; Countries Sign MOU, Agree to Boost Economic, Security Ties

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: Presidents Obama and Essebsi to Meet; Countries Sign MOU, Agree to Boost Economic, Security Ties

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

May 21, 2015

Top News: Presidents Obama and Essebsi to Meet; Countries Sign MOU, Agree to Boost Economic, Security Ties

By MENASource

President Barack Obama is showing support for Tunisia’s transition to democracy by welcoming the North African country’s newly elected president, Beji Caid Essebsi to the White House today.

MENASource

May 21, 2015

Top News: Islamic State’s Egypt Affiliate Urges Attacks on Judges

By EgyptSource

Islamic State’s Egypt affiliate on Wednesday urged followers to attack judges, declaring a new front in an Islamist militant insurgency in the world’s most populous Arab state.

MENASource

May 21, 2015

Egypt’s Sisi: Reformer or Strongman?

By Dwight Bashir

This past weekend’s mass death sentences handed down to former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi and more than 100 others is another stark reminder of the government’s relentless assault on all forms of dissent in Egypt. By far the biggest targets have been supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, but also opposition figures, critics, journalists, and rights […]

North Africa

MENASource

May 21, 2015

EconSource: Libya’s General National Congress Approves Subsidies Reforms

By EconSource

Libya’s General National Congress (GNC) has approved a potentially controversial decision to replace state subsidies for basic goods with direct cash payments, which it said would reduce smuggling.

MENASource

May 21, 2015

Train-and-Equip Alone Will Not Help Tunisia

By Haykel Ben Mahfoudh

Tunisia has faced increasingly complex security problems since its uprising in 2011 and in the country’s post-revolution phase. Tunisia’s government has taken some steps towards addressing its security concerns by placing security logistics as a top priority and key political actors—including police unions—have debated security reforms within the public discourse.

North Africa

MENASource

May 21, 2015

Can Turkey Compete with Iran in Iraq?

By Faysal Itani and Jeppe Sorenson

The United States in March extended its support to the Iraqi forces in Tikrit from reconnaissance to airstrikes, wisely predicted by the Iraqi president, in an attempt to hit two birds with one stone: defeating the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) in Tikrit and to halt Iranian political influence and prevent “sectarian improprieties” in Iraq’s […]

Iran
Iraq

MENASource

May 21, 2015

Ramadi in Context: Insurgents Not Resurging

By Ramzy Mardini

In what was a major setback to a government offensive to retake control of Anbar province, Iraqi security forces fled Ramadi as militants of the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) took full control of the provincial capital city on May 17.

Iraq

MENASource

May 20, 2015

Top News: Egypt’s Judges Club Head Appointed New Justice Minister

By EgyptSource

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday named a controversial senior judge known for his deep hostility toward the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood as justice minister.

MENASource

May 20, 2015

Top News: ISIS Seizes Part of Syria’s Palmyra

By MENASource

ISIS militants took control of the northern sector of Syria’s historic city of Palmyra Wednesday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

MENASource

May 20, 2015

US Support for Tunisia Needed Now

By Karim Mezran and Lara Talverdian

Tunisia has provided a glimmer of hope in a region that continues to be roiled by the aftermath of the Arab Spring. That hope risks being extinguished as the North African nation now grapples with the daunting challenges of governance.

North Africa
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