Saudi Arabia Clamps Down On Dissent

Haytham Mouzahem asks whether recent Saudi actions are tied to efforts to quell sectarian dissent and contain any spillover from either the Shiite-based uprising in Bahrain or the Syrian crisis.

Saudi Arabia

The Limits of Alliance in Iraq Between Kurds, Sunni Arabs

Without agreement on key nationalist issues, particularly the boundaries of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, alignments between Iraq's Kurdish and Sunni groups against the prime inister are likely to be tactical and short-lived, writes Denise Natali.

Iraq

Could Sistani Be Iraq’s Last Hope?

Many in Iraq are looking to the country’s highest Shiite authority, Ali al-Sistani, as a last resort for a solution to the ongoing and dire political crisis there, writes Ali Abel Sadah.

Iraq

Sunni Tribes in Anbar, Kirkuk Prepare for Battle

In the wake of the Hawija incidents where Sunni protesters were killed and injured by military forces, tribes and towns throughout the provinces of Anbar and Kirkuk are arming themselves, writes Ali Abel Sadah.

Iraq

KRG Prime MinisterBreaks Ice in Baghdad

Iraqi Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani’s Baghdad visit seemed to offer glimmers of hope for resolving tensions between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region, writes Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

Iraq

Iraqi Workers Lack Laws To Protect Their Rights

In an economy lacking in diversity, many Iraqis seek refuge in government employment, placing an enormous burden on a government struggling to provide legislation that will protect their rights, writes Omar al-Shaher.

Iraq

Iraq Plans to Launch Satellite To Deal With Water Crisis

As part of efforts to monitor desertification and growing water shortages across the country, Iraq is working to build and launch a satellite before the end of the year, writes Omar al-Shaher.

Iraq

Iraqi Government Bans TV Channels Over Coverage of Protest Violence

The Iraqi government has banned 10 TV channels for covering the violence in Hawija, further raising political tensions in the country, writes Mushreq Abbas.

Iraq

Erbil Sends Forces to Outskirts Of Kirkuk, Enraging Baghdad

Baghdad considers the Iraqi Kurdistan Region's deployment of peshmerga to the outskirts of Kirkuk to be escalatory and provocative, writes Abdel Hamid Zebari.

Iraq

Saudi Wahhabi Sheikh Calls On Iraq's Jihadists to Kill Shiites

A Saudi Wahhabi sheikh has issued a fatwa in which he calls on jihadists in Iraq to kill Shiites, including women and children, in another sign of the bitter sectarian conflict dividing the region, writes Haytham Mouzahem.

Iraq

Iraqi Sectarian Violence Spreads After Hawija Deaths

After dozens were killed when the Iraqi army stormed demonstrations in Hawija, sectarian violence seems to be escalating despite truce efforts, writes Ali Abel Sadah.

Iraq

Iraqi Kurdistan Faces A Hot Political Summer

Massoud Barzani faces competition in his unprecedented bid for a third term in the coming presidential elections in Iraqi Kurdistan, writes Abdel Hamid Zebari.

Iraq