Since its invasion of Iraq more than two decades ago in 2003, Washington has been competing with Iraq’s eastern neighbor Iran for influence over the country. By all accounts, the latter now wields more clout over Iraq’s political elite following the US military withdrawal in 2011. The already precarious balancing act facing the Iraqi government has become yet more difficult over the last year due to the involvement of Iraqi Shia militias in Iran’s coordinated ‘axis of resistance’ attacks on Israel.
The US has also grown wary of Iran’s interlocking economic ties with Iraq, ties that have recently manifested themselves in Tehran-backed Iraqi groups using the country’s oil export infrastructure to smuggle locally produced fuel oil, and other products, to finance their expanding operations (MEES, 1 November). Enter President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House: Iraq is poised to find itself at the forefront of the new administration’s anti-Iran rhetoric. (CONTINUED - 2389 WORDS)
