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: Court Acquits Twenty-Six Men in ‘Gay Bathhouse’ Case, Prosecution to Appeal

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: Court Acquits Twenty-Six Men in ‘Gay Bathhouse’ Case, Prosecution to Appeal

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: Court Acquits Twenty-Six Men in ‘Gay Bathhouse’ Case, Prosecution to Appeal

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 12, 2015

Top News: Court Acquits Twenty-Six Men in ‘Gay Bathhouse’ Case, Prosecution to Appeal

By EgyptSource

Twenty-six Egyptian men were found innocent of debauchery after being arrested for allegedly holding gay orgies in a Cairo bath house as Egypt’s forensic authority was unable to determine whether or not the defendants were involved in “homosexual acts.”

MENASource

Jan 12, 2015

Stalled Reform in Egyptian Journalist Syndicate: A Sign of Larger Media Malaise

By Miriam Berger

When the 2011 revolution broke out, the Egyptian Journalist Syndicate (EJS) stayed silent and kept its doors shut. The only constitutionally-allowed professional body for journalists did not condemn attacks on media or intervene to help those reporting in the street. In the euphoric and chaotic months that followed, many journalists rallied behind long-standing calls for […]

North Africa

MENASource

Jan 9, 2015

Top News: Suspect in Charlie Hebdo Attack Trained in Yemen

By MENASource

One of two brothers suspected of carrying out the deadly shooting at a French satirical weekly visited Yemen in 2011 to train with al-Qaeda affiliated militants, US and European sources close to the investigation said on Thursday.

MENASource

Jan 9, 2015

Top News: Egypt to Hold Parliamentary Elections Starting March 22, 23

By EgyptSource

Egypt’s top election committee said on Thursday that parliamentary elections will take place in two stages in March and April. Head of the Higher Elections Committee (HEC), Ayman Abbas said the first stage of the vote will take place March 21 to 22 for expats and 22 to 23 for residents in Egypt. 

MENASource

Jan 9, 2015

Sisi’s Visit to Coptic Cathedral Cements Alliance with Egypt’s Christian Minority

By Khaled Dawoud

Without any prior announcement, and only a few hours after his return from an official two-day visit to Kuwait, President Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi further won the hearts and minds of the country’s Coptic Christian minority when he became the first Egyptian president to attend the mass celebrating Eastern Orthodox Christmas on January 6.

North Africa

MENASource

Jan 9, 2015

EconSource: Egypt’s urban consumer price inflation rises to 10.1 percent

By EconSource

According to Egypt’s official statistics agency CAPMAS, urban consumer inflation rose to an annual 10.1 percent in December from 9.1 percent the previous month. Inflation spiked after the government slashed energy subsidies in July but fell in November from a peak of 11.8 percent in October. The central bank has kept interest rates steady after […]

MENASource

Jan 8, 2015

Lebanese Visa Restrictions Set Significant Precedent for Syrian Refugees

By MENASource

In an interview with the New Atlanticist, Faysal Itani, a fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, argues that the Lebanese government’s decision to impose visa restrictions on Syrian refugees sets a “significant precedent.”

Middle East Syria

MENASource

Jan 8, 2015

Top News: Nusra Front Militants Blow Up 13th Century Muslim Tomb in Southern Syria

By MENASource

Reports from Syrian state news agency SANA and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claim that Nusra Front militants have blown up the 13th century tomb of the revered Islamic scholar Imam al-Nawawi in Nawa City near the Jordanian border, a town captured by groups fighting the Syrian government in November. 

MENASource

Jan 8, 2015

Top News: Egypt Court Sets April 21 for Verdict in Morsi Ittihadeya Trial

By EgyptSource

Cairo Criminal Court has set April 21 as the date for the final verdict in one of the trials of deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in which he faces murder charges, a judicial source said Thursday.

MENASource

Jan 8, 2015

Abadi’s First 100 Days

By Daniel R. DePetris

Before Haider al-Abadi, a senior Dawa Party technocrat known for his collegial and consensual demeanor, catapulted to the prime minister’s office, there was a strong case to be made that the Iraq as we knew it was quickly coming apart at the seams.  The Iraqi army (the same army that was built, trained, and maintained […]

Iraq
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