Erbil’s new US Consulate: Symbolism meets strategy

The new US Consulate General in Erbil represents a deepening of Erbil-Washington relations and is a testament to the longstanding partnership between the United States and the Kurdistan Region. The compound is also a strategic hub for diplomacy, security, economic engagement, cultural exchange, and enduring bonds.

Baxtiyar Goran

Opinion

Iraq’s Coordination Framework faces deep internal crisis amid regional instability 

A series of recent events in Iraq reveals a mounting internal crisis within the Shiite Coordination Framework, as its factions struggle to adapt to major regional and international changes that have upended old political rules.

Ahmed Saadawi

Opinion

Iraq’s presidency: Much ado about nothing?

In the aftermath of Iraq's recent parliamentary elections, there is talk the position of Iraqi president, traditionally reserved for a Kurd under the federal system's unwritten norms, might go to a Sunni Arab, posing implications for the country's political make-up and balance of power.

Mohammed A. Salih

Opinion

Iraq between the quest to end US military presence and fear of Iran-backed militia dominance

In the wake of recent parliamentary elections, Iraq's next government must walk a treacherous political tightrope in the quest to balance popular sentiment calling for the end of a US military presence in the country and the possibility of expanded Iranian influence in their absence, with pro-Iran factions having achieved considerable success in the vote.

Baxtiyar Goran

Opinion

Iraq’s election: A familiar game and plenty of drama ahead

In the aftermath of Iraq's 2025 parliamentary elections, an examination of the contents of the nation's ballot boxes offers insight into the current political dynamics at play, with the absence of a parliamentary majority for any party and likely interference from the judiciary complicating the upcoming government formation negotiations.

Mohammed A. Salih

Opinion

The impending reckoning between Washington and Iraq’s militias

Any attempt to forcibly disarm these groups would almost certainly ignite a civil war across Iraq’s Shiite heartland, stretching from Basra to Baghdad. US military intervention to assist such an effort is unlikely; there is no appetite in Washington for another Iraqi entanglement.

Mohammed A. Salih

Opinion

Turkey's peace between media illusions and political reality

Despite optimistic language from Ankara and Turkish media regarding the peace process with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a closer look at the reality on the ground reveals a gamut of political and constitutional issues, as well as a fundamental discrepancy in the end goal of both sides.

Hassan Ahmad Mustafa

Opinion

The moral vacuum in contemporary US foreign policy

Amid US President Donald Trump's claims of having ended eight wars in as many months, a closer analysis of the geopolitical reality shows that Washington's mercurial foreign policy has failed to bring about sustainable peace in the world's myriad hot zones.

Hassan Ahmad Mustafa

Opinion

One step ahead, two back: Syria’s bumpy transition continues

Amid recent "parliamentary elections" of a dubious and undemocratic nature, clashes and tenuous integration efforts with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and continuing efforts to lift US sanctions, Syria is undergoing a tumultuous period in which the stakes for the country's future makeup are high

Mohammed A. Salih

Opinion

The world cannot allow chemical weapons to return

Ukrainian Ambassador to Iraq Ivan Dovhanych urges international support to prevent Russia from joining the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, terming it as akin to "appointing an arsonist as fire chief" and invoking the Kurdish and Iraqi experiences of the horrors of chemical weapons.

Ivan Dovhanych

Opinion