Iraq formally ended the mission of the International Coalition forces fighting the Islamic State, a move Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s government has framed as a transition into an era of full sovereignty and responsibility for the country’s security.

Iraq’s ban on Iranian flights has spiraled into a sovereignty clash, exposing Baghdad’s precarious balancing act between U.S. sanctions and Tehran’s influence

With Iraq teetering on the brink of Balkanization and a June 2027 deadline looming to rein in militias, a shadowy private meeting between Trump and al-Zaidy could decide the nation's fate.

The choice of Iraqi Shiite leader Hammam Hamoudi as a “link” between Iran and Iraq was no passing development, given that he belongs to a generation of Shiite leaders whose political and organizational careers were shaped in Iran before they returned to Baghdad after Saddam Hussein’s regime fell in 2003.

The arrest warrant against Ahmed al-Asadi over alleged corruption may signal a broader “political pruning” of Iraq’s Shiite ruling class, potentially sidelining weaker figures while leaving major leaders largely untouched.