United States

Iran

Iraq

Military & Security

Politics

U.S. forces struck Iran-linked militia targets in Iraq on Nov. 20 and 21, killing at least nine militants, in response to two ballistic missile attacks that targeted U.S. forces at al-Asad air base in western Iraq, AP reported on Nov. 21. 

Iraq: U.S. Strikes in Iraq Kill Iran-Backed Militants

Israel

Jordan

Palestinian Territories

Turkey

During U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's tour of the Middle East, he proposed humanitarian pauses in the Israel-Hamas war, increased aid, reduced civilian casualties, and the inclusion of Palestinians in post-war governance discussions, Reuters reported on Nov. 4.

U.S., MENA: Blinken's Proposal for Humanitarian Pauses in Gaza Falls Flat

Egypt

Energy

Around 800 supporters of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces, an Iranian-backed militia also known as PMF, blocked oil tankers from crossing the Iraq-Jordan border on Oct. 25, Reuters reported the next day.

Jordan, Iraq: Protestors Temporarily Block Iraq's Oil Exports to Jordan Over Israel

Kuwait

United Arab Emirates

Alwiyat al-Waad al-Haq, a facade for Iranian-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah, said on Oct. 24 that U.S. bases in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates were "legitimate targets" due to Washington's support for Israel in the Gaza war, Le Monde reported the next day.

Iraq, U.S.: Iranian-Backed Iraqi Militia Threatens U.S. Targets in UAE and Kuwait

Syria

U.S.-Iran Relations

The U.S. intelligence community warned of increasing attacks on U.S. military bases and forces in the Middle East after several attacks and attempted attacks since the week of Oct. 16, CNN reported on Oct. 23.

U.S., Iran: Iranian-Backed Militias Likely to Increase Attacks on U.S. Bases in the Middle East

Morocco

The Israeli National Security Council warned Israeli travelers against traveling to Egypt and Jordan, and it also warned against nonessential travel to Morocco amid a growing threat of attacks on Israelis across the region, Al Jazeera reported on Oct. 21. 

MENA: Israel Advises Against Travel to Egypt and Jordan as U.S. Evacuates From Iraq

Iranian-backed Iraqi militants launched three drone attacks against the Ain al-Asad airbase and a northern U.S. base in Iraq, causing injuries among coalition forces, Naharnet reported on Oct. 19.

U.S., Iraq, Syria: Iranian-Backed Militant Groups Target U.S. Bases After Biden Visit to Israel

The U.S. military intercepted two drones en route to a suspected attack on U.S. forces at Iraq's Ain al-Asad airbase, Reuters reported on Oct. 18, citing two unnamed U.S. officials.

U.S., Iraq: U.S. Intercepts Two Drones Before Attack on Airbase in Iraq

Assessments

Bahrain

Lebanon

Oman

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Tunisia

Yemen

Students from the American University of Beirut (AUB) rally in support of Palestinians outside the main gate of the university in the Lebanese capital on Oct. 9, 2023. 

Economics

Social Issues

Israel's likely ground invasion in Gaza will alienate many Muslims in the Middle East, pressuring their governments to respond in support of Palestinians.

Gauging the Regional Response to the Gaza Conflict

A worker surveys a stack of empty oil drums as he brings another to add to it at a warehouse in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan. 6, 2004.

An arbitration court's ruling will give Iraq's federal government significant leverage over the Kurdistan Regional Government's future oil policy.

Baghdad Wins the Tug-of-War Over Kurdish Oil. What's Next?

Angola

Mozambique

Republic of the Congo

Algeria

Libya

Europe

Cyprus

Italy

Ukraine

Russia

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (2nd L) and Libya's Tripoli-based Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah (3rd L) attend an agreement-signing ceremony between Italian multinational oil and gas company Eni and the Libyan National Oil Corporation in Tripoli, Libya, on Jan. 28, 2023.

As Europe turns away from Russian energy, Italy positions itself as a natural gas conduit between the Continent and Africa.

With Energy Deals in Africa, Italy Positions Itself as Europe's Next Gas Hub

The Kawergosk oil refinery in Iraqi Kurdistan is seen at sunset. 

Kurdish leaders' potential inclusion in the next Iraqi government could improve Baghdad's relations with the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, but tensions over oil exports will likely still worsen.

An Opening Emerges for Cooperation Between Iraq's Federal and Kurdish Leaders

Supporters of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr gather outside the headquarters of the Iraqi government in Baghdad's Green Zone on Aug. 29, 2022. 

The episode will add greater impetus among stakeholders in Iraq, including Iran, to resolve the country's nearly year-long political crisis. But in the meantime, more militia violence and unruly protests are likely.

What to Make of the Bloody Clashes in Baghdad 

Columns

On Security

Sub-Saharan Africa

Afghanistan

Al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab recruits walk down a street in the Somalian capital of Mogadishu following their graduation in March 2012. 

In the second part of this series, we explore al-Zawahiri's struggles to implement his ''far enemy'' strategy and whether his successor can return al Qaeda to its former prominence.

Al-Zawahiri's Legacy, Part 2: Will the al Qaeda Leader's Vision Outlive Him?

Media

Podcasts

What is the outlook regarding the intra-Shiite dispute that is preventing the formation of Iraq's new government?

Essential Geopolitics: Iraq's Government Formation Process

Brazil

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre discusses the recent drop in U.S. gas prices during her daily press briefing in Washington D.C. on Aug. 3, 2022. 

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Risks stemming from the Ukraine crisis, along with developments unrelated to the war, could quickly send prices back above $100 per barrel -- if not much higher.

Global Oil Prices Ease, but for How Long?

Supporters of Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr protest the nominee for prime minister from a rival Shiite faction Aug. 3, 2022, in Baghdad's high-security Green Zone.

Dueling Shiite protests are likely to continue until a new government is formed, a process that will remain fraught.

Rivalries Among Iraq's Shiites Threaten Continued Political Paralysis, and Worse

Iranian-made satellite carriers (left) and missiles (right) are displayed in front of the Holy Defense Museum in Tehran, Iran, on Sept. 20, 2020.

The integrated air and missile defense system laid out in the proposed DEFEND Act could entice Saudi Arabia to deepen normalization with Israel.

U.S. Lawmakers Unveil a Plan to Shield Middle East Allies From Iranian Aggression

How the Russia-Ukraine war is making it difficult to secure adequate food in Iraq, and what could follow.

Essential Geopolitics: Iraq's Developing Food Crisis

On Geopolitics

Syrians wave national flags and carry a large portrait of President Bashar al Assad in the streets of Damascus on May 27, 2021.

The Syrian Civil War

Security

Rebalancing Power in the Middle East

Broken Contracts in the Middle East

As Arab states rekindle ties with Damascus, other regional states or actors risk seeing al Assad’s success as proof that force is a valid option to quell threats to their control. 

Syria’s Normalization Risks Continuing the Cycle of Conflict and Authoritarianism in the Middle East

<p>Iraq rests at the heart of the Middle East, wedged between large and small powers alike. The country is divided into three topographic zones: the riverlands of Mesopotamia, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; the western and southern deserts, which reach into Saudi Arabia and Syria; and the highlands of Iraqi Kurdistan. The southern deserts shield Iraq from attack, while the northern highlands impede any attempt at conquest from Anatolia. But the open Syrian Desert provides a route into Iraq from Syria, especially along the Euphrates River, and the country&rsquo;s eastern frontier has few natural barriers to prevent invasion from Iran. The flat riverlands are similarly vulnerable to incursion from any power able to land an army from the Persian Gulf. Historically, foreign forces have used these routes as a means to penetrate Iraq&rsquo;s borders. In premodern times, Iraq&rsquo;s wealth came from its agricultural core, which forms the heart of the Fertile Crescent and stretches to the Persian Gulf. The country&rsquo;s 37 million people are still mostly concentrated in these farmlands today. But the discovery of oil in the north, east and south have shifted Iraq&rsquo;s economic core from the agricultural riverlands to the northern highlands and the Iranian border, bringing prosperity to cities such as Mosul, Arbil and Kirkuk. For most of its history, Iraq has been dominated by its neighbors, which have left behind unique cultural, religious and ethnic legacies. The Sunni Ottoman Turks and the Shiite Safavid Persians helped produce the country&rsquo;s modern Sunni and Shiite communities, while the sparsely inhabited western desert continues to have tribal and sectarian links to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria. Some of these groups have kept their relationships with Iraq&rsquo;s neighbors, which leverage those ties for their own strategic purposes. Meanwhile, in Iraq&rsquo;s northern highlands, the indigenous Kurds have managed to maintain a cohesive identity throughout centuries of foreign domination. This isolation occasionally gives rise to Kurdish secessionism. As the northern highlands drift further from the central government&rsquo;s control, the Sunni, Shiite, Christian and other communities of the riverlands and deserts jockey with one another for dominance of the state. Iraq&rsquo;s geographic challenge is therefore to protect its vulnerable oil fields while managing a diverse population that is susceptible to external influence.</p>

SITUATION REPORTS

Iraq: U.S. Strikes in Iraq Kill Iran-Backed Militants

U.S., MENA: Blinken's Proposal for Humanitarian Pauses in Gaza Falls Flat

Jordan, Iraq: Protestors Temporarily Block Iraq's Oil Exports to Jordan Over Israel

Iraq, U.S.: Iranian-Backed Iraqi Militia Threatens U.S. Targets in UAE and Kuwait

U.S., Iran: Iranian-Backed Militias Likely to Increase Attacks on U.S. Bases in the Middle East

MENA: Israel Advises Against Travel to Egypt and Jordan as U.S. Evacuates From Iraq

U.S., Iraq, Syria: Iranian-Backed Militant Groups Target U.S. Bases After Biden Visit to Israel

U.S., Iraq: U.S. Intercepts Two Drones Before Attack on Airbase in Iraq

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