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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Women’s World Cup 2019: Where is the Middle East?

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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Women’s World Cup 2019: Where is the Middle East?

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

Women’s World Cup 2019: Where is the Middle East?

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

Jul 3, 2019

Women’s World Cup 2019: Where is the Middle East?

By Sheva Tabatabainejad and Rana Abdulhadi

With all the excitement these past months have generated, it is hard not to notice a glaring discrepancy in representation. There is not one team from the Middle East that qualified.

Afghanistan Iran

MENASource

Jul 3, 2019

Challenges for Egypt’s fragile stability

By Alessia Melcangi and Giuseppe Dentice

The death of Mohamed Morsi on June 17, the only president ever instated through democratic elections, arrived as a reckoning in post-revolutionary Egypt.

North Africa

MENASource

Jul 1, 2019

Parliament voted to complete Iraq’s cabinet: What’s next?

By Abbas Kadhim

While inclusive governance is an admirable goal, it can be a formula for failure when merit is sacrificed for the sake of meeting ethno-sectarian quotas.

Iraq

MENASource

Jun 28, 2019

Israel’s problematic role in perpetuating water insecurity for Palestine

By Zena Agha

Climate change poses an existential and global threat to humanity. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is expected to be impacted more than any other area.

Israel Middle East

MENASource

Jun 26, 2019

Reactions to Morsi’s death: Truth became a victim

By H. A. Hellyer

On June 17, 2019 Mohamed Morsi, the first democratically elected president in Egypt, died in court. Joyce Karam, a journalist based in Washington DC, tweets it out. His death released a myriad of emotions—and then the truth became a victim. Yet again.

North Africa

MENASource

Jun 24, 2019

How the Manama Workshop on Palestine will succeed

By Richard LeBaron

The US-sponsored “Peace to Prosperity” workshop will convene in Bahrain on Tuesday June 25 and Wednesday June 26 to “discuss strategies and galvanize support for potential economic investments and initiatives that could be made possible by a peace agreement” between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Israel Middle East

MENASource

Jun 24, 2019

Trilateral tribulations: The upcoming Israeli advisers meeting

By Mark N. Katz

Iran and its role in Syria are likely to be the main agenda item at the June 24-26 trilateral meeting of the US, Russian, and Israeli national security advisers in Israel. What US National Security Adviser John Bolton and his Israeli counterpart, Meir Ben-Shabbat, want from Russia is clear: Moscow’s in reducing or even eliminating the Iranian presence in Syria. Russian National Security Adviser Nikolai Patrushev, though, is unlikely to meet their demands on this score.

Iran Israel

MENASource

Jun 20, 2019

Iranian environmentalism: Its origins and evolution

By David Laylin

In January 2018, eight members of the non-profit wildlife conservation Non-Governmental Organization, the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation (PWHF), were arrested and held in the notorious Evin prison in Tehran.

Iran

MENASource

Jun 20, 2019

Will Iraq have an uprising after sixteen years of political, social, and economic disillusionment?

By Aqeel Abood

Sixteen years have gone by since the American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, and the country is still suffering from major unresolved political, economic, and social issues. Even the most pessimistic people in Iraq did not think that the situation would be this dire.

Iraq

MENASource

Jun 18, 2019

How to counter Iran’s proxies

By Dr. C. Anthony Pfaff

Solutions will emphasize political efforts to continue to isolate Iran from the international community, make dependence on Iranian support less attractive to its proxies, and cultivate partners who can provide the kind of good governance and responsible behavior that serve as a more attractive model than Iran’s divisive practices.

Iran Iraq
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