Syria appoints new parliament as Israel tensions continue
On July 1, Syria’s government said that the country’s Higher Committee for People’s Assembly Elections had announced the final list of names for the country’s new parliament. The...
Rudaw Media Network
As Kurdistan Region seeks drone defenses, Rubio warns Iraq about Iran proxies
Iraq is working to shore up the economic stability and security of the Kurdistan Region in the wake of months of drone and missile attacks. More than 800 attacks, many assumed to have originated...
Op-eds
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
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
Amid security threats, Syria attempts to cement stability, international ties
On May 19, a car bomb exploded near a Ministry of Defense building in central Damascus’s Bab Sharqi area. One Syrian soldier was killed, and 23 civilians were wounded, the official Syrian Arab...
Op-eds
Iraqi security forces and politicians react to reports of ‘secret’ Israeli base
Iraqi politicians and security forces have responded to a May 9 report in The Wall Street Journal claiming that “Israel built and defended a secret Iran war base in Iraq.” The news provoked...
Op-eds
Protests in Syria’s Kurdish region highlight demand for rights
Protesters in Hasaka in eastern Syria tore down a government billboard at the Justice Palace on May 7. The protests by local Kurdish residents came after the Syrian government changed the...
Op-eds
Iran targets Kurdish Iranian opposition groups in northern Iraq
Two Kurdish Iranian opposition groups claimed they were targeted by Iranian attacks on May 5 and 6. The Komala of the Toilers of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran...
Op-eds
Iraq Is Envisioning New Oil Pipelines — But They Are Likely a Pipe Dream
Iraq’s reliance on oil exports through the now-closed Strait of Hormuz may spell financial disaster for Baghdad, which has limited options to avert a crisis. More than 94 percent of Iraq’s oil exports...
Insights
Iraq aims to select new PM as US warns of Iran-backed threats, IRGC-QF head visits
Iraqi Shiite political parties are seeking to appoint a new prime minister amid significant internal and external pressures. The Coordination Framework (CF), a coalition of Iraqi Shiite parties, was working...
Op-eds
Iraq focuses on political appointees, economic challenges amid Iran ceasefire
On April 14, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al Sudani met with French Ambassador to Iraq Patrick Durrel. “Mr. Al-Sudani emphasized the necessity for major powers to exert utmost efforts to curb escalation...
Op-eds
Home of Kurdistan Region president targeted, American universities threatened as attacks escalate in Iraq
The home of Nechirvan Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, was targeted in a drone attack on March 28. The following day, Reuters, citing security sources, reported, “Air defenses shot...
Op-eds
6 Kurdistan Regional Government soldiers killed in Iranian attack on northern Iraq
On March 24, six members of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Peshmerga forces were killed in an attack in northern Iraq. According to the local Rudaw Media Network, they were killed when...
Op-eds
Iranian-backed militias escalate attacks in Iraq, send mixed signals on next steps
Iranian-backed militias have continued to carry out dozens of attacks in Iraq over the past week, including targeting the US Embassy in Baghdad and the United Arab Emirates consulate in...
Op-eds
How Iraq Is the New Frontline of the Iran War
Iranian-backed militias in Iraq are seeking to tie down US forces in the Middle East.
Op-eds
US condemns Iranian and militia attacks in Iraq amid unclaimed airstrikes on Tehran-backed militias
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned terrorist attacks by Iran and Iranian-backed militias in Iraq in a call with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al Sudani on March 9. The call took...
Op-eds
Iran escalates attacks on Kurdistan Region of Iraq
Iran and Iranian-backed militias in Iraq increased attacks on the Kurdistan Region of Northern Iraq on March 6 and 7. “Drone and missile attacks targeting sites in the Kurdistan Region’s...
Op-eds
Iranian-backed militias continue attacks on US forces in Iraq
As America and Israel continued striking Iran, the Islamic Republic’s partners in Iraq claimed additional attacks against the “US presence” in the region on March 4 and 5, particularly...
Op-eds
Syrian government and SDF continue transition, US strikes Islamic State and withdraws from Tanf
The Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) continued transitioning control of portions of Syria as US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it had carried out strikes on the Islamic...
Op-eds
Syria joins anti-Islamic State coalition meeting as territory transition with SDF continues
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al Shaibani took part in a meeting of the US-led anti-Islamic State coalition in Saudi Arabia on February 9. Syria joined the coalition in November as its...