Analysis What Qaani's Baghdad visit reveals about Iran's post-war dilemma The Quds Force commander's Baghdad visit is occurring as Iran faced difficult choices in Iraq where the government is moving to bring powerful armed groups under state control after the recent war. By A correspondent in Tehran In Tehran, reporting on politics
IRGC chief Qaani reportedly in Iraq ahead of militia deadline Esmail Qaani, who heads the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, has been heavily involved in Iran’s relations with Iraqi militias. Iraq
Analysis How Turkey is deepening energy and economic ties with Iraq as Iran weakens Turkey and Iraq are accelerating energy, infrastructure and trade cooperation as the Hormuz crisis increases the strategic value of northern export routes. By Barin Kayaoglu In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security
Newsletter: Daily Briefing Israel strikes south Lebanon after 2 soldiers killed Tehran says Iran, Oman agree on Hormuz shipping route; US lifts sanctions on Iraqi airline linked to Iran's IRGC; and more. By Ezgi Akin In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO
Newsletter: Daily Briefing Iran denies negotiations with US after Trump calls off strikes By Ezgi Akin In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO
Iraqi Sunni Leader Accused Of Inciting Violence Against Shiites Revered by Anbar youth as a protector of their rights, Iraqi Sunni leader Ahmad al-Alwani has recently taken heat for allegedly inciting Sunnis to kill Shiites. Iraq
PUK Falls to Third Place In Iraqi Kurdistan Elections The preliminary electoral results in Iraqi Kurdistan show the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) to be the biggest winner, with the new Movement for Change coming in second. Iraq
Iraq's Failed 'Democracy' Disheartens Activists Amid violence and rampant corruption, many Iraqi youth are frustrated with the slow pace of democratic change in the country. Iraq
Young Iraqis Vent Frustrations On Facebook In light of Iraq’s tightly controlled media and an increasingly dangerous security situation, many of the country’s youth have turned to Facebook to organize protests and voice dissent. Iraq
English Learning Lags in Iraq English is the most daunting and frequently failed subject in Iraq’s end-of-school exams, indicating a need to update teaching methodologies and focus on it earlier. Iraq
Daily Suicide Bombings Keep Iraqis in State of Shock As daily bombings and killings in Iraq have risked becoming regarded as mundane and normal, attention has shifted to the Iraqi government’s apparent lack of recognition of the human cost its country’s unstable security situation entails. Iraq
Iraq's Sunni-Shiite Killings: When It’s Based on a Name In a time when something as simple as your name or accent can condemn you to death, many Iraqis, particularly the youth, are distancing themselves from divisive sectarian identities. Iraq
Tracing Syrian Conflict Back to Iraq’s Civil War The relationship between Iraq and Syria has always been close, yet contradictory, with some arguing that the economic and political results of the Iraqi civil war led to the outbreak of Syria’s current conflict. Iraq
New School Year Challenges Iraqi Families While some posit that there have been improvements in Iraq’s educational system since 2003, the country still grapples to accommodate its student population just as families struggle to cover basic school expenses. Iraq
Iraqi Kurdistan Must Ensure Minority Rights While the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has long been touted as a stable refuge in an otherwise turbulent region, there have been increasing complaints from the region’s non-Kurdish minorities of discrimination and harassment. Iraq
Iraqi Civil Society Struggles To Stay Relevant, Effective With millions of dollars of foreign aid pouring into Iraq toward civil organizations since 2003, it is time to examine how effectively this money is being used. Iraq