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: Alaa Abdel-Fattah, 24 Others Sentenced to Fifteen Years Prison

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: Alaa Abdel-Fattah, 24 Others Sentenced to Fifteen Years Prison

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

Top News: Alaa Abdel-Fattah, 24 Others Sentenced to Fifteen Years Prison

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 11, 2014

Top News: Alaa Abdel-Fattah, 24 Others Sentenced to Fifteen Years Prison

By EgyptSource

Leading anti-Mubarak activitist Alaa Abdel-Fattah was sentenced in absentia to to fifteen years in jail on Wednesday by an Egyptian court for violating a protest law.

MENASource

Jun 11, 2014

EconSource: World Bank outlook for MENA–Positive but uncertain

By EconSource

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

MENASource

Jun 10, 2014

Top News: Salafi Nour Party Expects 20 Percent of Seats in Parliament

By EgyptSource

In an interview with Aswat Masriya, Younis Makhioun, the head of Egypt’s Salafist Nour Party, said he expects his party to win the same percentage of parliamentary seats – twenty percent – as it did in 2012. 

MENASource

Jun 10, 2014

A Tunisian Public-Private Partnership Needed to Fight Terror

By Bassem Bouguerra

A group of armed assailants, made up of fifteen masked men, attacked the house of Tunisian Interior Minister Lotfi Ben Jeddou on May 27, only a few meters away from the regional National Guard center.

North Africa

MENASource

Jun 10, 2014

Syria: Can the United States and Iran Reach an Understanding?

By Frederic C. Hof

Two days of very frank and worthwhile “track two” discussions between senior Iranian and US non-officials recently took place in Europe. Syria was, as it had been in the previous December round of talks, a major topic of discussion.

Syria

MENASource

Jun 10, 2014

EconSource: Al-Sisi unveils economic plan

By EconSource

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

MENASource

Jun 9, 2014

The Field Marshall Plan

By Matthew Hall

What can the Development Corridor mega-project tell us about how Sisi will govern? In a spate of television interviews during the final stretch of the campaign, presidential hopeful Abdel Fattah al-Sisi spoke of the entrenched structural problems facing the nation—an economic rut so deep that Egyptians could not hope to “run” from it, but instead […]

Elections
North Africa

MENASource

Jun 9, 2014

Freedom of Expression is not the only Victim

By Sarah El Sirgany

A day before the presidential elections results were officially announced, popular TV satirist Bassem Youssef announced the end of his comedy show, El Bernameg, telling reporters he was fed up with worrying about his and his family’s safety. MBC, the Saudi channel that gave him a platform, he added, had come under pressure to cancel […]

North Africa

MENASource

Jun 9, 2014

Top News: Egypt’s Sisi Sworn in as President

By MENASource

Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has been sworn in as the eighth president of Egypt at a ceremony in Cairo. Sisi took the oath-of-office before the Supreme Constitutional Court on Sunday, beginning his four-year presidency.

MENASource

Jun 9, 2014

Top News: Sisi Sworn in as Egypt’s Eighth President, Reappoints Mahlab as PM

By EgyptSource

Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has been sworn in as the eighth president of Egypt at a ceremony in Cairo. Sisi took the oath-of-office before the Supreme Constitutional Court on Sunday, beginning his four year presidency. He reappointed on Monday the country’s prime minister Ibrahim Mahlab to head a caretaker government shortly after the cabinet tendered its resignation.

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