Iraq News & Analysis

President Trump has signaled that he’s ready for a long war, but time isn’t necessarily on Washington’s side.

Recent history is rich in lessons illustrating the geopolitical risks of regime change by proxy.

With practical considerations putting the dream of an independent state increasingly out of reach for Kurdish people in the Middle East, many groups are recalibrating their goals toward greater autonomy.

Israel’s ‘David’s Corridor’ project would undermine the Axis of Resistance, secure access to critical resources, and fundamentally reshape the demographic and political realities of the Levant in a way that’s favorable to Israeli strategic interests. But realizing the vision will not be easy.

The US withdrawal from Iraq’s Ain al-Asad and Victoria bases does not amount to a strategic withdrawal from the Middle East. Rather, it’s a tactical shift intended to put the US military’s long-term presence on a more stable footing.

Iraq is gearing up for a critical test of the state’s political stability in November, with a number of internal and external factors potentially shaping the outcome of the 2025 Parliamentary elections.

Despite their shared desire for self-determination, the plight of the Palestinian people attracts far more media and academic attention than that of the Kurds.

The discovery of ephedra plants in Afghanistan and a booming end-user market in the Gulf States is fueling a growing drug crisis across the Middle East.

Exploring the constellation of proxies and armed groups that underpin political power and levers of external influence across the Middle East.

Erdoğan’s recent visit to Iraq hopes to herald in a new era of development under the banner of the Development Road Project. However, the critical matter of Baghdad’s posture toward the PKK remains unresolved.

The coalition against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, having largely completed its mission, is increasingly viewed as a liability in Baghdad.

A whole-of-region approach from Washington and its allies is the only remedy to a Middle East hurdling toward chaos.

The Gaza conflict has advanced several of Iran’s regional goals. Reversing the trend will require coordination from Washington and its Arab allies.

The rise of IMEC as an alternative to Faw Port and the ‘Development Road’ project illustrates mounting US-China geopolitical rivalry over trade infrastructure in the Middle East.

Global multinationals are developing a greater appreciation of the risks inherent to operating in post-conflict zones, and in doing so they could be getting ahead of more rigorous regulation to come.