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  • Violence in Jerusalem sparks political controversy in Iraq

    Iraq’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Al-Sahhaf is under fire for having referred to violence in Jerusalem as terrorism. While Sahhaf promptly revised his remarks amid reported calls for his dismissal, the debacle has triggered an outpouring of support for Palestinians among prominent Iraqi political figures—including supporters of Prime Minister Muhammad Shia’ Al-Sudani.

  • Inside story: Will visit to Iran reconcile Iraq’s divided ‘Shiite House’?

    When the Sadrist Movement in early January called for a mass “unified Friday prayer,” there was some consternation among observers. As the movement’s leader—Shiite cleric and politician Muqtada Al-Sadr—last year declared his exit from Iraqi politics, there was cautious anticipation of something major potentially being about to unfold. Yet the Jan. 13 prayer was held peacefully in Baghdad and most southern governorates, except for Basra which was hosting the Arabian Gulf Cup.

  • Opinion: Here’s Why Qatar Is About To Make A Big Move On Iraqi Oil & Gas

    The four projects are essential to Iraq’s future as a truly independent country. The first of them is the completion of the Common Seawater Supply Project (CSSP), which remains crucial in enabling Iraq to reach crude oil production targets of 7 million barrels per day (bpd), then 9 million bpd and perhaps even 12 million bpd, as analysed in depth in my last book on the global oil markets. The CSSP in its most basic iteration involves taking and treating seawater from the Persian Gulf and then transporting it via pipelines to oil production facilities to maintain pressure in oil reservoirs to optimise the longevity and output of fields. The long-delayed plan for the CSSP is that it will be used initially to supply around 6 million bpd of water to at least five southern Basra fields and one in Maysan Province, and then built out for use in other fields.

  • Iraq PM backs continued US troop presence

    Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani defended the open-ended presence of US and other foreign troops in his country, in an interview published Sunday. "We think that we need the foreign forces," Sudani told The Wall Street Journal in his first US interview since taking office in October. US and NATO forces have been training Iraqi soldiers on how to fight the Islamic State group.

  • Depoliticizing Iraq-Gulf Relations Through Soccer

    Iraq’s hosting of this iteration of the Gulf Cup cannot be understood without considering the positive impacts of the political and diplomatic reconciliations of recent years. Relations are no longer reliant on high-level forums, international donor conferences, memorandums of understanding, or trade deals. Instead, they are finally reaching a stage where governments and soccer associations believe that Iraq-Gulf social engagement does not need to be defined by political and politicized frameworks.

  • Iran-Iraq tension brews over name of regional football tournament

    Controversy has erupted over the use of the term Arabian Gulf for a football tournament hosted by Iraq this year, with Iran slamming prominent Iraqi political figures for using what it refers to as a distortion of the waterway’s historically accurate name. The southern Iraqi city of Basra is hosting the 25th edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup (AGC). But despite Iranian condemnation and reports of some alleged organizational mismanagement, Iraq has received widespread regional support as host.

  • Arabian Gulf Cup hosts Iraq sink Saudi Arabia 2-0

    It was always going to be tough for the Green Falcons, who fielded a young and inexperienced team against the full-strength hosts. Torrential rain made the game almost unplayable and it did not help that Oman and Yemen had played on the same surface earlier in the day. Running with the ball was almost impossible and it was only long balls that made an impact. Any attempt at the short game failed more often than not.

  • Why Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan rank among the ‘world’s angriest countries’

    Just as the world economy appeared to be recovering from the lockdowns, supply-chain disruptions and travel bans of the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine sent inflation spiralling, with rising food and fuel prices falling heavily on the world’s poorest.

  • Gulf Cup gives Iraq chance to draw closer to Arab neighbors

    Iraq is about to embark on a new chapter in its sporting history. From Jan. 6-19, the southern city of Basra will host the 25th edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup (AGC), a biennial football tournament amongst Gulf Arab states first held in 1970 in Bahrain. Iraq will be the venue of a major international football competition for the first time since it both hosted and won the AGC in 1979.

  • Iraq Oil Revenues Top $115 Billion in 2022

    Iraq's oil revenues in 2022 exceeded $115 billion, according to preliminary figures announced by the oil ministry on Tuesday -- a four-year high following a collapse in prices during the coronavirus pandemic. Oil production accounts for some 90 percent of Baghdad's income, and the country is the second largest producer within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).