As the protest movement in Iraq launched a second wave of demonstrations across Iraq on 25th October, observers witnessed a shift in rhetoric in contrast to the first wave. During the first wave of protests, which began on 1st October, protesters were accused of being aimless, with some protesters...

On 1st October 2019, protests broke out in Iraq, with demonstrators demanding an improvement to services and an end to corruption. Although the protests broke out in ten different provinces, the most intense demonstrations took place in Baghdad, Dhi Qhar, and Basra. Day One – Tuesday 1st October P...

Marking one of the most significant foreign visits in Iraq’s recent history, Prime Minister, Adil Abd al-Mahdi, travelled to China on Thursday 19th September, leading a delegation of 50 people consisting of government ministers – including the Ministers of Defence and Interior – as well as nu...

Since the beginning of this year, the Iraqi Government has found itself struggling to manage an escalating recreational drug use epidemic, leading to increased levels of addiction and cross-border smuggling, as well as the domestic production of drugs. According to experts, arrests for the possessio...

Since mid-July, a series of drone strikes, allegedly conducted by Israel, have targeted the bases and weapons depots belonging to some of the Iranian-backed factions of the Iraqi Popular Mobilisation Units (PMU). On Sunday, a drone strike at an outpost held by the PMU’s 45th Brigade near al-Qaim ...

Last week, the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) launched its latest counter-terrorism operation, named Operation Will of Victory, to root out ISIS insurgents operating in the provinces of Nineveh, Anbar and Salahuddin in the northern and western parts of Iraq. An additional operation in Diyala Province, ...

Earlier this week, the Turkish Foreign Ministry stated that Turkish operations in northern Iraq would “firmly continue”, despite the intensifying political fallout in response to airstrikes that killed ten people and wounded a further 15 in two separate incidents last week. The announcement came...

On Monday, 24th June, the Iraqi Parliament voted in new interior, defence and justice ministers, bringing an end to months of political wrangling and deadlock amongst Iraq’s major political blocs, which left key government ministries in limbo. Shortly before Monday’s vote, Iraqi Prime Minister ...

On Tuesday 21st May, the Iraqi Prime Minister, Adil Abd al-Mahdi, announced his intention for Iraq to act as an intermediary between the United States and neighbouring Iran following a week of increased tensions between the two countries. As part of these efforts, Abd al-Mahdi has said that he will ...

Over the weekend of the 12th and 13th January and on Monday 14th, a number of high-profile officials arrived in Iraq. The Iraqi Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif, arrived in Baghdad on Sunday 13th on a trade mission. During his visit, Zarif met with his Iraqi counterpart, Mohammed Ali al-Hakim, and he ...