Iraq, a meeting point for regional rivalries

🔸The developments of the past few days have again placed Iraq at the intersection of regional rivalries; a place where, on the one hand, the Baghdad government is trying to keep itself away from attacks on Saudi Arabia and from tensions among Tehran, Washington, and Riyadh, and, on the other hand, armed groups aligned with Iran openly talk about a military response to the United States and even the possibility of targeting Saudi Arabia. This stance, along with Baghdad’s efforts to maintain security agreements with Riyadh and prevent the conflict from being drawn into Iraq, raises the question of whether the Iraqi government can still maintain balance between regional commitments, the pressure from armed groups, and its relations with Saudi Arabia and the United States—or whether this equation has entered a new phase. We have discussed this question with Farzin Karbasi, an analyst of Iraq and regional affairs.