Iraq

Navigating the confusing Iraqi electoral landscape is just one of many obstacles in the way of reformers, but if emerging political reformist players can form a unified front, put forth a concrete political platform, and resist being coopted by ruling powers, then there is a real possibility for substantive political change in the upcoming elections.

Solving Iraq’s demographic crisis will require immediate and comprehensive action at both the state and individual level. Without these solutions, we risk extensively harming our future generations.

The United States must underscore the risks that such action would incur and incentivize Tehran to rein in its proxies and partners.

At least forty-four nations have condemned Hamas and decried its tactics as terrorism, but regional players such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Syria, and Iraq have pinned responsibility on Israel.

In Iraq, the precarious reality and confused relationships seem to have driven al-Sudani’s government to attempt to circumvent the traditional binary choice between Washington and Moscow. This new course comes with a distinct and flashy name, the “Development Road” project, and looks to Beijing as a third way forward.

Longstanding tensions in the multi-ethnic city of Kirkuk in Iraq may once again spark confrontations between Turkey and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), the latest in a series of disagreements over the city.

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.

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.

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