Tunisia - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent since 2012

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Tunisia

April 6, 2026

Tunis 2:29 pm

21°C

From Egypt to Lebanon: What’s at stake for regional states on Trump’s visa ban list?

The State Department claimed that citizens from the affected countries are more likely to use social welfare services at a high rate.

Residents of the city of Gabes carry placards during a demonstration on Oct. 15, 2025, to demand the closure of chemical factories.

Over 200 hospitalized in Tunisia’s Gabes as anger over pollution crisis grows

President Kais Saied is facing one of his biggest challenges yet as demands for the closure of the city’s phosphate processing plant increase.

Meloni Saied

Italy’s Meloni discusses immigration, economic ties on Tunisia visit: What to know

The two countries have strengthened their ties in the past years, signing several agreements on economic, trade and energy cooperation.

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 29: U.S. President Donald Trump walks across the South Lawn of the White House followed by granddaughter Chloe after returning on Marine One on July 29, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump returned to the White House with his family after a trip to Scotland that was part vacation, part work, as he stayed at his Trump Turnberry golf course, followed by Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire, from July 25 to 29. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Analysis

Middle East braces for Trump's tariffs: Gulf gains, North Africa strains as both hedge

The tariffs could be wins for the Gulf states, as many have trade surpluses with the United States, while some in North Africa and the Levant, with trade deficits, stand to lose.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Latest News

Analysis

Trump tariffs, BRICS threats unlikely to erode Middle East’s trade war edge

MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP via Getty Images

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

From Iraq to Algeria, Trump’s looming tariffs could target 4 MENA countries

US President Donald Trump holds up a chart while speaking during a “Make America Wealthy Again” trade announcement event in the Rose Garden at the White House on April 2, 2025, in Washington.

Iran sends senior delegation to Algeria, Tunisia as relations warm

Algerian People's National Council

Analysis

As Saied begins new term as president, Tunisians brace for unstable governance

Tunisia's president, Kais Saied, attends his swearing-in ceremony before the National Assembly in Tunis on Oct. 21, 2024.

Francisco Serrano

By Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

World Cup

Culture

Iran, Saudi, other MidEast teams warm up in Qatar as World Cup approaches

Iran is looking to advance to the second round for the first time ever, but the team is mired in controversy over the protests in the country while host Qatar itself is facing criticism at home.

A woman walks over cracked earth at al-Massira dam in Ouled Essi Masseoud village, some 140 kilometres (85 miles) south from Morocco's economic capital Casablanca, on August 8, 2022 amidst the country's worst drought in at least four decades. - Residents of Morocco's Ouled Essi Masseoud village are suffering from a series of successive droughts, prompting them to rely solely on sporadic supplies in public fountains and from private wells. The situation is critical, given the village's position in the agricu

Water stress to remain major driver of social instability, barrier to economic growth in Maghreb

Francisco Serrano

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

Moroccans raise placards as they gather in front of parliament in the capital Rabat to protest against rising prices, on February 20, 2022. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Inflation in Maghreb will continue to undercut real wages and feed social discontent

Francisco Serrano

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

Ons Jabeur

Culture

Tunisia's Ons Jabeur falls short in US Open final

Jabeur is by far the most successful tennis player to come out of North Africa, but has yet to win a Grand Slam tournament.

Tunisia food

Tunisians watch prices of most consumer goods soar

Tunisians have seen their purchasing power plummet in recent days, amid a market shortage of basic goods, soaring prices of most consumer goods and warnings of possible nationwide protests.

Tunisian citizens and lawyers leave the court of the governorate of Ariana after the announcement of a strike by judges, following the dissolution of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary by President Kais Saied, Feb. 9, 2022.

Tunisian president targets judiciary, dismisses dozens of judges

Tunisian President Kais Saied has dismissed 57 judges, accusing them of obstructing investigations into terrorism cases and committing financial and moral corruption.

This photo shows the interior of El-Ghriba synagogue, the oldest Jewish monument built in Africa, on the first day of the annual pilgrimage, Djerba island, Tunisia, April 26, 2021.

Culture

Jewish pilgrimage to Tunisian island stirs calls for criminalizing normalization with Israel

The annual Jewish pilgrimage to El-Ghriba synagogue in Tunisia has rekindled the popular and political debate over the issuance of a law criminalizing normalization with Israel.

Ons Jabeur of Tunisia plays a forehand.

Culture

Women’s Tennis Association adds tournament in Tunisia following Ons Jabeur’s success

Tunisian tennis star Ons Jabeur is quickly becoming one of the top competitors in the sport.

Tunisia

Tunisia’s president to establish 'new republic' amid fear of new dictatorship

Tunisia’s President Kais Saied has announced plans for a new constitution and a different system of government, which raises concerns among political and human rights circles about the possibility of imposing a dictatorship in the country.

People walk past Saint-Vincent de Paul Cathedral on Habib Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis on Dec. 14, 2021.

International pressure compounds Tunisian economic crisis

There are international and local concerns over the political and economic situation in Tunisia, which is hoping for a deal with the IMF in return for implementing reforms that are rejected by the powerful UGTT labor union.

A man places a copy of the Tunisian Constitution atop a Tunisian national flag.

Tunisian president grants himself power to appoint election authority

The presidential decree to revise the law of the Independent High Authority for Elections in Tunisia and change its composition is facing widespread criticism from opposition parties and organizations that accuse Tunisian President Kais Saied of granting himself wide powers that may affect the course of democracy.

Tunisians raise national flags as they take to the streets of the capital to protest against their president, Tunis, Tunisia, April 10, 2022.

Political crisis in Tunisia reflected in the streets

The battle for power between Tunisian President Kais Saied and the parliament headed by Rashid Ghannouchi is escalating and has moved to the street.