The Americans Are Gone. Will Iraq’s Militias Disarm?
On September 30, the US completed its military withdrawal from Iraq, ending a 12-year-long mission to combat ISIS that began in 2014. The date was also meant to be the deadline for disarming the largely Iranian-backed militias known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), but Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has now pushed that cutoff back to June 30, 2027. MEI Distinguished Diplomatic Fellow Amb. (ret.) Robert S. Ford joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to discuss what the US military withdrawal means for Iraqi security and the nature of the bilateral relationship going forward. They also speak about what it will take for Baghdad to bring the PMF militias to heel, and how Iraq may navigate the post-Iran war era.
Jordan’s Economy Weathers Iran War’s Shocks and Finds New Opportunities
In the summer of 2003, King Abdullah II told Bloomberg Jordan sits “between Iraq and a hard place,” a play on words designed to describe the kingdom’s challenging environment to an American audience amid the US-led Iraq war to the east and the lingering Palestinian-Israeli conflict to the west. Jordan is grappling with a much “harder place” today.
Proponents of the war with Iran have taken recent increases in crude-oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz as proof that the US strategy is finally working. President Trump is so confident in this that he recently rejected a seven-day plan, set forward by Iran’s foreign ministry, to end the war and open the strait. The United States is “winning tremendously,” Trump boasted.
With the Islamic State ousted from Mosul, several Iraqi parliamentarians and media outlets affiliated with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) have called on the Rouhani government to “prepare the ground” for Iranian companies to play a larger role in the Iraqi city’s reconstruction process. “Iran must make efforts to actively participate in the rebuilding of Mosul and other war-ravaged cities of Iraq and export Iran’s technological and engineering services and other goods needed in Iraq.
Art has long been both an instrument for openly engaging in dialogue as well as an agent to force an overdue conversation. The installations of international artists, such as Dawn Weleski, Jon Rubin, Ai Weiwei, and Theaster Gates, all engage with social issues and help introduce new perspectives or dialogue. The fusion of art and socio-political commentary thrives especially in the Middle East, where unrestricted criticism of both government and cultural norms can be seen as heresy.
Iran’s Islamic Azad University Plans to Open New Branches in Lebanon and Iraq
Iran’s Islamic Azad University (IAU) plans to open new branches in Lebanon and Iraq, according to Ali Akbar Velayati, the head of the university’s board of founders and an influential political figure in the Islamic Republic.
I.R.G.C. Asks Rouhani for Larger Role in Iran’s Economy
The chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) has said that his forces are actively involved in economic and developmental projects across the country and stressed that the I.R.G.C. is keen to further expand its role in the Iranian economy to create jobs and fight poverty.
Iran Vows to Respond to Trump Administration’s Regime Change Remarks
The deputy chief of Iran’s armed forces has warned that the Islamic Republic will take action against U.S. interests in the Middle Eastern region in retaliation to the Trump administration’s regime change remarks.
Rouhani Takes Credit for Enhancing Iran’s Military Capabilities, Aiding Iraq and Syria
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has said that upgrading the country’s missiles and accelerating the production of “strategic weapons” have been among the greatest achievements of his government in the past four years.
Soleimani Details Iran’s Military Role in Iraq, Hails Iraqi Paramilitary Forces and Hezbollah
On Monday, the head of Iran’s Quds Force revealed that the country’s defense ministry worked over time in recent years to manufacture weapons to equip Iraq’s Army and the Hashd al-Shaabi – the Iraqi paramilitary forces also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces [P.M.F.] – in their fight against the Islam
Iran’s Defense Minister Reacts Angrily to Mattis’ Regime Change Remarks
U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis’ latest remarks about the need for regime change in Iran have triggered angry reactions in Tehran. The Iranian defense minister described the Mattis’ comments as “interventionist” and claimed they violated all principles of international law.
Senior Iranian Military Official: Liberation of Mosul Sounded “Death Knell” for U.S. Plots
A senior Iranian military official said on Tuesday that the liberation of the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State sounded “the death knell for the divisive plots” of the United States and its regional allies, the Iranian media reported.
The oldest peer-reviewed publication dedicated to the study of the modern Middle East, MEI’s flagship journal covers politics, society, and culture in the region.
