Category: Monitoring the Crisis

Key Takeaways: POLITICS: PM Zaidi Assumes Office, Appoints Acting Ministers; New Coalition Seeks to Unseat Speaker Halbousi – On May 16, new Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falih al-Zaidi formally assumed office during a handover ceremony attended by former Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani at the government palace in Baghdad. Among his first moves as prime minister, […]

Key Takeaways: POLITICS: Parliament Approves a Partial Cabinet Led by New Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi – On May 14, the Iraqi parliament voted to approve the government program and a partial cabinet led by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi. During the session, which was attended by 270 lawmakers and held under tight security measures, parliament approved […]

Key Takeaways: POLITICS: Washington Extends Conditional Support to Zaidi; Parliament Expects Vote on Zaidi’s Cabinet Next Week; KDP Lawmakers Return to Parliament – On April 30, U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi and congratulated him on his nomination to form Iraq’s next government. Trump invited Zaidi to visit Washington after his […]

Key Takeaways: POLITICS: U.S. Announces Bounties on Two Militia Leaders; Businessman Ali Al-Zaidi Named Prime Minister-Designate – Between April 23–27, the U.S. State Department’s Rewards for Justice program announced rewards of up to $10 million each for information on Abu Ala al-Walaie and Hayder al-Gharawi, leaders of Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada and Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, […]

Iraq this week saw continued political deadlock, rising security risks, and growing economic pressure, including cross-border attacks, threats to activists, and financial constraints.

Key Takeaways: POLITICS: Iraq Elects New President in Controversial Vote but Deadlock Over the Next Prime Minister Continues – On April 11, Iraq’s parliament elected Nizar Mohammed Amedi as the country’s next president. Amedi, from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), secured 227 votes—surpassing the required two-thirds majority—in a second round of voting after the […]

Key Takeaways: POLITICS: Militias Call for Punitive Measures Against Jordan; PUK Confident of Support Ahead of Contentious Parliament Meeting to Elect President – On April 2, the “Iraqi Resistance Coordination Committee,” an umbrella group of armed factions, accused the leaders of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE of supporting U.S.-Israeli attacks against Iran, and said […]

Key Takeaways: POLITICS: Parliament to Meet April 11 to Elect New President; Militia Threatens Regional Escalation – On March 30, Iraq’s parliament said lawmakers will meet on April 11 to vote on a new president. The decision followed a meeting between the speaker, his deputies, and leaders of parliamentary blocs aimed at breaking the ongoing […]

Key Takeaways: POLITICS: Parliament Requires Government to Enforce Federal Oil and Customs Policies on the KRG; Militias to Pause Attacks on U.S. Embassy as Pressure Mounts – On March 18, Iraq’s parliament issued an eight-point resolution during a session dedicated to restarting northern oil exports through the Kurdistan Region and addressing related disputes between Baghdad […]