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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Syria: Farmers, Teachers, Pharmacists, and Dentists

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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Syria: Farmers, Teachers, Pharmacists, and Dentists

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

Syria: Farmers, Teachers, Pharmacists, and Dentists

MENASource
Jan 12, 2026

The Venezuela-Iran connection and what Maduro’s capture means for Tehran, explained 

By
Joze Pelayo, Kirsten Fontenrose, Ellie Sennett 

Our experts break down Iran’s ties to Venezuela and the impact Maduro’s capture could have on Tehran’s interests in and outside of its own borders. 

Iran
Oil and Gas

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Content

MENASource

Jun 20, 2014

Syria: Farmers, Teachers, Pharmacists, and Dentists

By Frederic C. Hof

In his June 19 press remarks about the situation in Iraq, President Barack Obama was asked whether the expansion of Syria’s war into Iraq courtesy of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) had changed his mind about the urgency of providing meaningful military assistance to Syrian nationalists ready and willing to fight jihadists […]

Syria

MENASource

Jun 20, 2014

Top News: US to Send Up to 300 Military Advisers to Iraq

By MENASource

President Barack Obama said Thursday that he would deploy up to 300 military advisers to Iraq to help its struggling security forces fend off a wave of Sunni militants. Stating that the militants pose a threat not just to Iraq but also to the United States.

MENASource

Jun 20, 2014

Top News: Court Sentences Brotherhood Leaders Badie, Hegazy, and Beltagy to Death

By EgyptSource

An Egyptian criminal court sentenced a number of top Muslim Brotherhood leaders to death Thursday.

MENASource

Jun 20, 2014

EconSource: Egypt reaches first deal to revise gas prices with foreign energy firm

By EconSource

Follow the latest news and developments about the Arab transition countries. 

MENASource

Jun 20, 2014

EconSource: Senate draft bill reduces US aid to Egypt

By EconSource

Follow the latest economic news and developments about the Arab transition countries. 

MENASource

Jun 19, 2014

Seven Important Questions on Iraq

By MENASource

Bilal Y. Saab, senior fellow for Middle East Security with the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security, provides his perspective on the US role in the Iraq crisis, what’s at stake for US national security interests, and what it will really take to stabilize the situation.

Iraq

MENASource

Jun 19, 2014

The Bright Spot in the Egyptian Economy

By Mohsin Khan and Svetlana Milbert

The Egyptian economy has been slumping for the past three years. Since January 2011 economic growth has come down substantially, unemployment has been steadily rising, inflation has remained high, the fiscal deficit has expanded, and the foreign exchange reserves of the country have fallen by more than half. Clearly this is a grim picture that […]

Economy & Business
North Africa

MENASource

Jun 19, 2014

Top News: Iraqi Army Controls Refinery But Militants Fight On

By MENASource

Militants stormed the complex in Baiji on Wednesday, setting fire to several storage tanks for refined products in a move that sent jitters through world oil markets. “Clashes stopped at about midnight Wednesday, but keep breaking out again from time to time,” an employee trapped inside the sprawling complex said by telephone. 

MENASource

Jun 19, 2014

Syria and Iraq: The “Skyes-Picot” Issue

By Frederic C. Hof

The violent convulsions gripping Syria and Iraq have given rise to the argument that the “Sykes-Picot” boundaries imposed by France and Britain in the Levant and Mesopotamia after the First World War will have to be redrawn to recognize and reconcile ethnic and sectarian divisions papered over by the Great War’s victorious allies.  As someone […]

Iraq
Syria

MENASource

Jun 19, 2014

Top News: Egypt ranks 143 out of 162 countries in 2014 Global Peace Index

By EgyptSource

The Institute for Economics and Peace released its 2014 Global Peace Index (GPI) on Wednesday, in which Egypt ranked 143 out of 162, falling over 30 places and marking the second biggest loss in peace of any country in the world. 

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