BAGHDAD — When Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani speaks about battling corruption, implementing long overdue economic reforms or getting an elusive oil law done with the Kurdistan Region, you get the sense that he means it.

Sudani, 52, is a former human rights minister and mayor of Maysan province. When he was 10 years old, Saddam Hussein’s regime killed his father and other family members for being affiliated with the opposition Shiite Dawa Party. Sudani never went into exile under Saddam and participated in the 1991 anti-regime protests following the Gulf war.

In office less than six weeks, Sudani’s charge as premier is formidable, even daunting. He knows that Iraqis desperately want and need accountable government. The political system is widely viewed as rigged and corrupt. Betting against reform in Iraq has been a good move. For example, despite words to the contrary, many expect that the investigation into the theft of $2.5 billion from Iraq’s Rafidain Bank, the so-called "heist of the century," will avoid incriminating anyone in power and probably be used as a cudgel against those out of favor.

Sudani’s best intentions and his ambitious program may ultimately be complicated or even thwarted by what happens with Iraq's neighbor to the east. The specter of Iran hangs over Iraq’s future. The Islamic Republic is under siege, as Iran’s leaders reportedly describe their predicament. The protests in Iran, sparked by the death in custody of Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini for a hijab violation, don’t seem to be dying down despite Iran seemingly offering to loosen such legislation and disband the notorious morality police.