The Water Shortage Crisis in Iraq

The Middle East and North Africa are dry, with higher temperatures, fewer rivers, and less rain and snowfall than the rest of the world. Thanks to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Iraq is one of the richest countries in the region in terms of water resources—but millions of Iraqis nevertheless suffer from a lack of clean water as temperatures rise and desertification overtakes large parts of the country. This problem is badly mismanaged by the Iraqi government, as it is by other governments across the region, and is worsened by the malign actions of neighboring countries. If the water problem is not solved, Iraqi civilization could disappear completely.

Iran’s Threat to Iraq Is a Threat to the US

The US Office of the Director of National Intelligence recently released its annual threat assessment, in which Iran is mentioned no fewer than 60 times as part of a “diverse array of threats” facing the US. Iran is moving toward its goal of full domination of Iraq and the expulsion of the last remaining US forces from that country, a result that would represent a great success for the Islamic Republic.

The Quds Force Commander’s Visit to Iraq

The recent visit to Iraq by the new Quds Force commander, Esmail Qaani, had several purposes: to display the continuity of Tehran’s involvement in the country, to rally the Shiite factions against the formation of a pro-US government by Adnan Zurfi, and to enable Qaani to stake a claim as a worthy successor to Qassem Soleimani. Yet Zurfi’s abdication and his replacement by Mustafa Kadhimi does not necessarily constitute an Iranian achievement because of Kadhimi’s diverse political associations and ties across the Middle East and the international arena.

The Iraq Uprising: Where Does It Go From Here?

Ofra Bengio
January 10, 2020
Paper No. 1398

The killing of Qassem Soleimani could prove to be a turning point in the history of the Middle East as a whole, but first and foremost in Iraq. That country has been contending for months with a popular uprising that has produced chaos and turned it into an arena for a titanic battle between Iran and the US.

The WhatsApp Crisis Reveals Cracks in Iran’s Soft Power Strategy

The “WhatsApp crisis” in Lebanon revealed a crack in Iran’s grand diplomatic strategy of using its proxies to push ideological soft power concurrently with hard power. Since 1979, Tehran has been trying to brand itself as the epicenter of the Islamic Revolution. That notion is being challenged—not by Lebanese tanks and Iraqi bullets but by citizens armed with smartphones.

Tehran and the Restive Iraqis

With many Iraqis (including Shiites) blaming Tehran for the social restiveness engulfing their country, Iranian policymakers fear the weakening of Tehran’s grip on its neighbor.

Iran and Its Proxies Face the Costs of Imperialism

In both Iraq and Lebanon, Shiites are participating in protests against Iranian-backed, Shiite-led governments. As protests and violence in Iraq and Lebanon continue, Iran is beginning to learn that imperialism in a world of mass politics and protest has unintended costs.

Lebanese and Iraqi Protesters Transcend Sectarianism

The protests in Lebanon have evolved into more than a fight against a failed and corrupt government. They constitute a rare demand for political and social structures that emphasize national rather than ethnic or sectarian religious identities in a world in which civilizational leaders who advocate some form of racial, ethnic, or religious supremacy govern the world’s major as well as key regional powers.

The Al-Hashd al-Sha’abi Militias at a Crossroads

The recent assaults on the militia bases of al-Hashd al-Sha’abi raise questions about Iraq’s future. Despite the Iraqi PM’s ultimatum demanding that the militias, which operate under the Iranian umbrella, integrate into the Iraqi military apparatus, a number of them are not complying, which could have implications for Iraqi sovereignty.

Hassan Rouhani’s Visit to Iraq

For the first time since his swearing-in, Iranian president Hassan Rouhani paid a visit to neighboring Iraq. While the visit was sparked by the economic sanctions imposed by Donald Trump's administration and Iran's desire to create an economic corridor that would enable it to bypass those sanctions, it was also intended to implement a broader range of interests: to maintain Iraq within Tehran’s sphere of influence on the one hand, and to accumulate achievements at the expense of Rouhani’s domestic opponents on the other.