Iraq

Iraq's oil-dependent economy is in crisis due to the Strait of Hormuz blockade, forcing major production cuts and a declaration of force majeure. The government is urgently pursuing alternative export routes, finalizing a deal with the Kurdistan Regional Government to resume flows via Turkey and negotiating with Iran to reopen a shipping corridor. These stopgap measures, including planning new pipelines to Syria and Turkey, underscore a severe revenue shortfall.

• 14Iraq and Kurdistan agree to restart oil exports through Turkey
• 6Iraq declares force majeure on foreign-operated oilfields due to Hormuz disruption
• 3Two Tankers Attacked In Iraqi Waters, Oil Terminals Suspended
• 3Iraq hit by total blackout: Ministry
• 3Iraq Halts Production At Major Oil Field After Strait Of Hormuz Closure

Iraq's political sphere is dominated by its alignment with Iran, exemplified by the top Shiite cleric declaring support a 'collective duty' and the government offering congratulations to Iran's new supreme leader. The state is diplomatically isolated, summoning the US and Iranian envoys over attacks while Western leaders like Spain's Sanchez publicly invoke the Iraq war as a cautionary tale. Foreign diplomatic presence is shrinking, with Italy reducing staffing in Baghdad and Erbil.

• 3China to offer humanitarian assistance to Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq
• 3Starmer and Sánchez invoke Iraq war lessons in response to Trump
• 2Spain’s Sanchez calls Iran war “much worse” than Iraq
• 2Iraq to summon US, Iran envoys over deadly attacks: PM’s office
• 2Jeremy Bowen: Trump has called for an Iran uprising but the lessons from Iraq in 1991 loom large

The US-led security architecture in Iraq has collapsed following a catastrophic plane crash and sustained attacks on diplomatic facilities, triggering a full Western withdrawal. NATO has pulled its troops from the Iraq mission, and Italy is withdrawing from Erbil after a drone attack killed a French soldier in Kurdistan. Iran's direct attacks on oil tankers near Iraqi waters have further escalated the regional conflict, leaving a security vacuum.

• 60U.S. military refueling plane crashes in Iraq, killing all crew members
• 26Drone attack targets US embassy in Baghdad, causing a fire
• 19French soldier killed in drone strike in Iraq's Kurdistan region
• 12NATO withdraws troops from Iraq mission and relocates them to Europe
• 8Italy to withdraw troops from Erbil base after drone attack

Iraqi society is fractured along sectarian lines, with Shiite religious and militia leaders intensifying their rhetorical and ideological alignment with Iran's new leadership. This is countered by symbolic acts of Kurdish cultural resilience, such as Nowruz celebrations, and by Sunni clerics pledging allegiance to a rival Islamic revolutionary leader. The pervasive regional conflict overshadows internal issues like femicide, with international humanitarian aid being mobilized for basic needs.

• 5Protests in Pakistan, Iraq after Khamenei's death
• 3WHO releases more than $2 million in emergency funds to Lebanon, Iraq and Syria
• 1Iraqi Sunni clerics pledge allegiance to new leader of Islamic revolution
• 1Iraqi Kurds mark Nowruz, celebrating light over darkness
• 1‘No to someone like Yazid’: Ayatollah Khamenei's martyrdom echoes Karbala's timeless call