Iraq

Policy Analysis on Iraq

Iran’s Pressure Campaign on Iranian Kurds Continues

Iran has stepped up pressure on Baghdad and Erbil to disarm and relocate Iranian Kurdish opposition parties in the Kurdistan Region amidst ongoing disputes between Erbil and Baghdad over budget and oil revenues.

Sep 13, 2023

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Wladimir van Wilgenburg

Brief Analysis

The Coordination Framework's Four-Way Split in Provincial Elections (Part 2): Division Over Diyala?

Diyala is the one area where the CF's main militia politicians are competing, with the upstart Qais al-Khazali trying to challenge his elders Hadi al-Ameri and Faleh al-Fayyad in their tribal home province.

Sep 12, 2023

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Hamdi Malik
Michael Knights

◆ Militia Spotlight

Maps & Graphics

Brief Analysis

The Coordination Framework's Four-Way Split in Provincial Elections (Part 1): Overarching Trends

Badr, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, and Nouri al-Maliki are testing each other's strength in the south but mostly hanging together in the north.

Sep 11, 2023

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Hamdi Malik
Michael Knights

◆ Militia Spotlight

Rayan al-Kildani in a gaudy fake gold chair

Maps & Graphics

Brief Analysis

Rayan al-Kildani Pretends to Have a Personal Audience with the Pope

A serious Iraqi human rights abuser sank to new depths to build his credibility after being rejected by the country's Christian leadership.

Sep 8, 2023

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Yaqoub Beth-Addai
Michael Knights

◆ Militia Spotlight

Maps & Graphics

Brief Analysis

Coordination Framework Militias Exposed for Stealing Baghdad Real Estate

Pressure from Ayatollah Sistani and Sadrists has put Kataib Hezbollah and Asaib Ahl al-Haq on the defensive over their growing illicit property empire.

Aug 31, 2023

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Michael Knights
Amir al-Kaabi

◆ Militia Spotlight

Families of Islamic State fighters in Syria - source: Reuters

Articles & Testimony

Trends in the Return and Prosecution of ISIS Foreign Terrorist Fighters in the United States

An in-depth update on Washington's complicated but crucial efforts to repatriate fighters and their families from northeast Syria and other hotspots.

Aug 29, 2023

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Tanya Mehra
Merlina Herbach
Devorah Margolin
Austin Doctor

Fikra Forum

The Audacity of the Erbil Hills Golf Course Amidst Iraq’s Water Crisis

In the heart of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), construction of the ambitious Erbil Hills Golf Course is underway.

Aug 23, 2023

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Renwar Najm

Photo of a worker at a construction site in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Fikra Forum

New Road Map for Iraq to Support Stability and Growth

Iraq’s stagnant political and legal environments today indicate that the country still faces a deep strategic impasse as a result of international obligations and limitations.

Aug 21, 2023

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Fawzi al-Zubaidi

Maps & Graphics

Brief Analysis

Nujaba Claims Victimization by Coordination Framework Militia-Politicians

Tensions between Iraq's "resistance" groups are on the rise, with Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba claiming that its online platforms and street protests are being targeted.

Aug 21, 2023

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Hamdi Malik
Michael Knights

◆ Militia Spotlight

Shoppers at a marketplace in Karbala, Iraq

Video

Brief Analysis

Bridging the U.S.-Iraq Business Gap

An advisor to Prime Minister Sudani joins a U.S. Commerce Department official and a Middle East regulatory expert to discuss how American companies can expand their access to lucrative but largely untapped markets in Iraq.

Aug 17, 2023

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Mais Abbas Abousy
Safwan Al-Amin
Amer Aladhadh

Fikra Forum

Tracking Iranian Soft Power Influence in the KRI

The Islamic Republic of Iran over several years has gained a significant foothold in Iraq, spreading its influence and agenda throughout Iraqi daily life.

Aug 11, 2023

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Nawras Jaff

Maps & Graphics

Brief Analysis

Nujaba Leads the "Big Three" Reaction to Iraq's Telegram Ban

While one leading militia spearheaded online vitriol against a social media ban that affected its affiliates, Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib Hezbollah seemed more inclined to compromise.

Aug 10, 2023

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Hamdi Malik

◆ Militia Spotlight

Fikra Forum

How American-Style Education Influences Iraq’s Private Sector

To grow, the Iraqi economy needs a more robust private sector, which in turn needs young Iraqi workers with business-ready skill sets. American-style universities are filling the gap.

Aug 9, 2023

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May Kadow

Netblocks shows Telegram down in Iraq, Aug 6, 2023

Maps & Graphics

Brief Analysis

Militia Reactions to Iraq's Suspension of Telegram

The official ban on their favorite social media app may be temporary, but their response has highlighted divisions within the Shia militia milieu.

Aug 9, 2023

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Amir al-Kaabi
Michael Knights

◆ Militia Spotlight

Fikra Forum

Iraqi Kurds Face Legitimacy Issues Amid Election Deadlock and Internal Division

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) has been heading for unprecedented political and financial uncertainties as a result of the growing disputes between the two ruling parties and the central government’s moves to erode the KRI’s autonomous status.

Aug 7, 2023

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Bekir Aydoğan

Fikra Forum

Sinjar: Challenges and Resilience Nine Years after Genocide

The ninth anniversary of the Yazidi Genocide in Sinjar, Iraq is drawing near, a tragedy in which thousands of Yazidis were murdered, Yazidi women and children were enslaved, and Yazidi villages and compounds were destroyed by ISIS in August 2014.

Jul 25, 2023

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Izat Noah

A priest leads an Easter mass at the Grand Immaculate Church in Al-Hamdaniya, Iraq, April 9, 2023 - source: Reuters

Brief Analysis

Blunting the Militia Campaign Against Iraq’s Christian Leaders

A U.S.-sanctioned, Iran-backed militia leader aims to sideline the country’s Chaldean Patriarch and take over billions of dollars’ worth of Christian property.

Jul 25, 2023

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Yaqoub Beth-Addai
Michael Knights

◆ Militia Spotlight

Maps & Graphics

Brief Analysis

Profile: Iraqi Basij

Formed by Ashab al-Kahf and Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, this Persian-named violent protest movement has been used to carry out threats against the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.

Jul 20, 2023

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Amir al-Kaabi
Hamdi Malik
Michael Knights

◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles

Brief Analysis

Iraq’s Power Problem (Part 2): Implications of the New Oil-for-Gas Deal with Iran

Baghdad hopes to avoid power cuts, political turmoil, and U.S. sanctions by striking a barter agreement with Tehran, but the deal raises many questions.

Jul 19, 2023

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Bilal Wahab
Dennis Ross

Photo of an oil facility in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Brief Analysis

Iraq’s Power Problem (Part 1): Persistent Financial and Technical Challenges

Diversifying Iraq’s energy supplies won’t mean much if its power infrastructure is not rehabilitated, and the skewed cost-revenue ratio at the Ministry of Electricity is unsustainable.

Jul 17, 2023

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Noam Raydan

Supported by the

Linda and Tony Rubin Program on Arab Politics

The Washington Institute's Linda and Tony Rubin Program on Arab Politics focuses on social, political, and economic developments in the Arab world, with an emphasis on the Arab countries of the Levant.

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Featured experts

Michael Eisenstadt

Michael Eisenstadt is the Kahn Fellow and director of The Washington Institute's Military and Security Studies Program.

Michael Knights

Michael Knights is the Jill and Jay Bernstein Fellow of The Washington Institute, specializing in the military and security affairs of Iraq, Iran, and the Persian Gulf states. He is a co-founder of the Militia Spotlight platform, which offers in-depth analysis of developments related to the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria.

Bilal Wahab

Bilal Wahab is the Nathan and Esther K. Wagner Fellow at The Washington Institute.

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Policy Analysis on Iraq

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