Between Iraq and a Hard Place
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, only two months into his term, has a busy month of foreign engagements. In early July, he received the body of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei which was visiting Iraq’s...
Muqtada al-Sadr
Body of slain Iranian leader Khamenei arrives in Iraq for Najaf and Karbala rites
The body of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was taken to the Iraqi holy cities of Najaf and Karbala on July 8 as part of his funeral procession. Large crowds gathered to mourn the slain leader...
Op-eds
Iraq launches corruption crackdown, sets deadline for militia weapons handover
Iraq launched a series of raids targeting corrupt politicians and officials on June 28. “Elite Counter Terrorism Service units raided homes inside Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone...
Op-eds
Washington Wants a Relationship With Iraq Focused On Business, but Security Can’t Be Ignored
Amid a tense regional situation, Iraq’s new government is engaged in a high-stakes balancing act. Tom Barrack, the U.S. special presidential envoy for Iraq and Syria, met with Iraq’s new prime minister,...
Policy Briefs
Several Iranian-backed militias in Iraq say they accept state control of weapons
On June 3 in Baghdad, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi met with delegations from Asaib Ahl al Haq and Kataib Imam Ali, two Iranian-backed Iraqi militias. He thanked the group’s leadership for supporting...
Op-eds
Muqtada al Sadr announces integration of his militia into the Iraqi state
On May 27, Muqtada al Sadr, the well-known Iraqi Shiite cleric and popular leader, announced the dissolution of his militia, Saraya al Salam (the Peace Brigades). “It has become necessary for...
Op-eds
Iran conducts new attacks on Kurdish opposition groups in northern Iraq
Iran carried out a new attack on a Kurdish Iranian opposition group in northern Iraq on the evening of May 25, one of several over the past weeks that Kurdish groups have blamed on Iran. Despite...
Op-eds
Iraq’s Election Is Over, But the Real Winner Has Yet To Be Determined
The voting is done in Iraq, but that doesn’t mean there will be a new government anytime soon. The preliminary results of the November 11 election didn’t contain shocking conclusions, but neither did...
Policy Briefs
Iraq votes in parliamentary elections amid US security talks and concerns about Iranian influence
Iraqis voted in a parliamentary election on November 11, the country’s sixth since the toppling of former President Saddam Hussein in 2003. The election, held as security forces were deployed...
Op-eds
Iraq’s Election Plays Out in the Shadow of Influence From Washington and Tehran
Iraq’s parliamentary elections are scheduled for November 11, but voters aren’t holding their breath for change. Allegations of pervasive vote buying and reliance on patronage systems already taint...
Policy Briefs
Iraqi polls grapple with Israeli and Iranian relations as country prepares to vote
Iraqis head to the polls Nov. 11 to elect 329 parliament members for a four-year term, marking the seventh free election since Saddam Hussein’s 2003 fall. Candidates are treading carefully, pledging...
Op-eds
Major Shiite parties to run separately in Iraq’s November election amid disagreements
The Coordination Framework, the ruling Shiite alliance in Iraq, announced its intention for parties to run on separate lists in the November 11 election but reunite the coalition under the same...
Op-eds
Iraq’s former PM visits Houthis amid US strikes and Houthi attacks
Former Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi visited Sanaa in Yemen to meet with the Iranian-backed Houthis days after the US launched airstrikes on the Houthis. His trip also came as the Houthis...
Op-eds
The role of Iraqi Shia militias as proxies in Iran’s Axis of Resistance
Iran’s 45-year trajectory from the Khomeini revolution to its current challenge to Israel, the West, and the Rules-Based International System (RBIS) led to developing and solidifying its “Axis...
Op-eds
Assad’s Enemies Are Not Our Friends
The United States shouldn’t make allies out of terrorists.
Op-eds
Could the unrest in Syria spillover into Iraq? Iran seems to think so
Iran believes that Iraq is in danger - this means that Iran is worried militias it backs in Iraq could lose influence.
Op-eds
Iraq heads to provincial elections, first in ten years
Today Iraq is trying to put some of its past behind it.
Op-eds
Israel claims Syrian militia assisting Hezbollah
Israel Defense Forces Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee claimed on Thursday that the Iraqi Shi’ite militia Liwa al-Imam al-Hussein has traveled to Lebanon to assist Hezbollah in fighting Israel....
Op-eds
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly in Iraq’s New Cabinet
It remains to be seen whether the Iraqi honeymoon continues.
Op-eds
Iraq heading for civil war; US must not take advantage
Such a war would shake the region and the world economy