Key Takeaways:

• POLITICS: Sudani in Brussels to Address NATO Members; Kidnapped Researcher Released After Two Years in Captivity – On September 8, Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani arrived in Brussels to address a NATO meeting at the invitation of Secretary General Mark Rutte. In his speech, Sudani outlined a balanced foreign policy rejecting regional alignments while prioritizing Iraq’s sovereignty. He emphasized strengthening ties with NATO—through security cooperation, counterterrorism, border security, cyber defense, and deterrence—while keeping Iraq out of regional conflicts. On regional issues, he called for a peaceful resolution to Iran’s nuclear file, inclusive stability in Syria, and an end to violations in the Palestinian territories and the war in Gaza. He concluded that Iraq seeks a regional order based on cooperation, interdependence, and integrated political, economic, and security partnerships. On September 9, Sudani announced the release of Russian-Israeli researcher and Princeton scholar Elizabeth Tsurkov after more than two years in captivity. She was kidnapped in March 2023 by gunmen believed to be Kataib Hezbollah members during a research trip in Baghdad. Sudani said her release was the “culmination of extensive efforts” by Iraqi security services. Two militia officials, however, told AP her freedom was secured through negotiations, not force. They claimed the conditions included U.S. troop withdrawal and guarantees against U.S. or Israeli strikes in Iraq. Unconfirmed reports linked the release to prisoner swaps, ransom payments, and settlements between Baghdad and Iran-backed militias over June’s drone attacks on air defense radars. In other developments, on September 10, Iraq’s electoral commission said it had disqualified 788 candidates from November’s election. That same day, more than 80 new ambassadors were sworn in by President Abdullatif Rashid. more…
• SECURITY & HUMANITARIAN: Officers Killed in Tribal Clashes; Iraq Eyes Air Defense Development – On September 6, two federal police officers were killed and ten people wounded—including five security personnel—during tribal clashes in Baghdad’s al-Ma’amil district. Security forces responding to the clashes came under fire; two gunmen were also killed and six arrested. On September 10, the ministerial council for national security discussed a “comprehensive project” to build Iraq’s air defense system. PM Sudani briefed the council on his Brussels visit, where he raised the issue with NATO representatives. Defense Minister Thabit al-Abbasi added that Iraq expects delivery of eight batteries of the South Korean M-SAM II system ordered last year by early 2026. In other incidents, unidentified gunmen opened fire on Kurdistan Communist Party offices in Kirkuk on September 8, causing damage but no casualties. On September 6, an IED exploded in Amara’s al-Iskan neighborhood. more…
• ECONOMY & CLIMATE: Erbil Launches Wastewater Project; Iraq’s Water Reserves Hit New Lows- On September 10, the Kurdistan region, with support from Japan’s International Cooperation Agency (JICA), launched a major wastewater treatment project for Erbil and surrounding districts. The first of eight stages will take three years and cost $230 million, serving 200,000 people. Once complete, the project will benefit over three million residents. On September 11, a member of parliament’s agriculture and water committee said Iraq’s water reserves had fallen to just five billion cubic meters—half the June level. He blamed Turkey for failing to release promised volumes from the Tigris and Euphrates. While Turkey claimed releases of 400 cubic meters per second, actual inflows to Iraq have not exceeded 120. Officials warn this year’s shortage is Iraq’s worst in nearly 80 years. In other developments, on September 11, the Transport Ministry said port revenues in 2024 rose more than IQD 65 billion compared to 2022, a 37% increase. more…

For more background on most of the institutions, key actors, political parties, and locations mentioned in our takeaways or in the stories that follow, see the ISHM Reference Guide.

POLITICS: Sudani in Brussels to Address NATO Members; Kidnapped Researcher Released After Two Years in Captivity

On September 8, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani arrived in Brussels to address a meeting of NATO member states on an invitation from NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. In his speech, Sudani outlined a vision of balanced foreign policy, rejecting regional alignments while prioritizing Iraq’s sovereignty and national interest. He emphasized strengthening ties with NATO—through security cooperation, counterterrorism, border security, cyber defense, and deterrence capacity—while keeping Iraq away from regional conflicts. He stressed diplomacy and international law as the path to resolve disputes, warning that instability fuels terrorism, displacement, and humanitarian crises that threaten not only the region but also Europe and the world. Domestically, he reaffirmed Iraq’s commitment to economic diversification, water security, environmental resilience, security sector reform, and keeping arms solely under state control. On regional issues, he called for a peaceful resolution to Iran’s nuclear file, inclusive stability in Syria, and an end to violations in the Palestinian territories and the war in Gaza. Ultimately, he concluded, Iraq seeks a regional order built on cooperation, interdependence, and integrated political, economic, and security partnerships to promote shared stability and development.

On September 9, Prime Minister Sudani announced the release of Russian-Israeli researcher and Princeton scholar, Elizabeth Tsurkov, after more than two years of captivity. Tsurkov, who’s also a former employee of EPIC, was kidnapped in March of 2023 by gunmen thought to be members of the Kataib Hezbollah militia while on a research trip in Baghdad. In a post on Twitter, Sudani said that Tsurkov’s release was the “culmination of extensive efforts exerted by our security services over the course of many months.” Two Iraqi militia officials, however, told AP that Tsurkov’s freedom was secured through negotiations rather than a military operation. The conditions for Tsurkov’s release were the withdrawal of U.S. forces and guarantees that the U.S. and Israel would refrain from conducting military strikes inside Iraq, the officials claimed. Tsurkov was handed over to the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and is to be reunited with her family later this week. Unconfirmed reports in the Iraqi press have linked Tsurkov’s release to prisoner exchange deals involving ransom payments, the release of Iranian and Lebanese operatives held by Israel, as well as a settlement between the Baghdad government and Iran-backed militias over drone attacks on Iraqi air defense radars in June. 

On September 10, a spokesman for Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) said the Commission disqualified a total of 788 candidates from competing in the next parliamentary election in November. The final number could go up or down in the coming days depending on the results of ongoing reviews of candidate backgrounds and appeals submitted by those who have been disqualified, another IHEC official explained. IHEC documents circulating online show that the majority of disqualifications were related to candidates either having criminal records or suspected ties to the Ba’ath Party. In related news, the judicial commission for elections said this week that it reversed an earlier decision by IHEC to disqualify independent lawmaker Sajjad Salim. Salim had said at the time that his disqualification was based on malicious accusations of being a Ba’ath Party sympathizer filed by the security directorate of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). The judiciary also certified that former parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi is eligible to run in the November election. The election judges dismissed complaints filed by Halbousi’s rivals in August, in which the head of the Azm Coalition, Muthanna al-Samarraie argued that the Federal Supreme Court ruling in November 2023 that removed Halbousi from parliament means the latter is unfit to run for office.

On September 10, dozens of newly appointed Iraqi ambassadors to foreign countries were sworn in by Iraqi President Abdullatif Rashid. The ceremony involved 86 new ambassadors out of the 93 whose appointments were approved wholesale by parliament on August 26. The remaining seven diplomats will be sworn in later pending certain bureaucratic procedures, according to a statement by Rashid’s office. The appointments represent the largest overhaul of Iraq’s diplomatic corps since 2009, when 63 ambassadors were appointed. Objecting lawmakers claimed the vote was illegal because quorum was allegedly broken, and because the list of 93 ambassadors was approved en masse without giving lawmakers a chance to review the nominated envoys’ resumes and qualifications one at a time.

Sources cited in this section include: INA, Iraqi PM’s office, AP, al-Aalem al-Jadeed, ISHM archive, Shafaq, Rudaw, Mawazin, Paragraph.

SECURITY & HUMANITARIAN: Officers Killed in Tribal Clashes; Iraq Eyes Air Defense Development

On September 6, two federal police officers were killed and ten people were injured, including five members of the security forces, during tribal clashes that had erupted in al-Ma’amil area of eastern Baghdad, the Interior Ministry and security sources said. Security forces were responding to the clashes when they were fired upon by individuals involved in the fighting, resulting in the casualties among government forces, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Two of the gunmen were also killed in the fighting that ensued, and six were arrested, the statement added. Security forces cordoned off the area and launched an operation to search for suspects that continued into Tuesday, the Interior Ministry said in a subsequent statement. 

On September 6, security sources in Maysan province said that an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated in al-Iskan neighborhood of central Amara. The explosion, which happened near the office of the chairman of Maysan’s provincial council, damaged a civilian vehicle but there were no reports of casualties.    

On September 8, unidentified gunmen opened fire on the offices of the Kurdistan Communist Party in Kirkuk, party officials told Rudaw. The drive-by shooting, which occurred on the road between Chemchemal and Qara-Anjeer, caused damage to the building and vehicles belonging to the party, but there were no reports of casualties, the officials added.  

On September 11, security sources in Dhi-Qar province said that unidentified individuals attacked a house with a hand grenade. The attack, which happened in al-Shatra district, north of Nasiriyah, seriously injured a civilian who lived in the targeted building.  

On September 10, Iraq’s ministerial council for national security held a meeting to discuss “a comprehensive project proposal to build and develop the capabilities of Iraq’s air defense system, with all details and requirements.” Prime Minister Sudani, who chaired the meeting, briefed the council on the results of his recent visit to Brussels, where he raised the issue of Iraq’s air defense needs in his speech before the representatives of NATO member states (see above). In related news, Iraq’s Defense Minister, Thabit al-Abbasi said this week that the Iraqi military expects to receive eight batteries of the M-SAM II or Cheongung II air defense system, which the country had ordered from South Korea last year, in early 2026. Debate about deficiencies in Iraq’s air defense capabilities is a perennial issue that has gained particular attention in recent months following the conflict between Iran and Israel, during which both countries violated Iraq’s air space to launch attacks on one another.  

Sources cited in this section include: INA, Baghdad, Today, al-Sumaria, Rudaw, Shafaq, ISHM archive. 

ECONOMY & CLIMATE: Erbil Launches Wastewater Project; Iraq’s Water Reserves Hit New Lows

On September 10, the Kurdistan region, with support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), launched a major, multi-stage project to build wastewater treatment facilities for Erbil and surrounding districts. Speaking at the launch ceremony, Japan’s ambassador to Iraq, Endo Akira, mentioned that the project aims to treat wastewater originating in Erbil and surrounding areas and make it safe for use in agriculture. The first stage of the project, out of eight stages in total, will be built by a Japanese company on 82,000 square meters west of Erbil, according to a local official in charge of the project. It is expected to take three years to complete at a cost of $230 million and will serve 200,000 people in the area, the official added. When fully completed, the entire project with its eight stages will serve more than three million people, according to officials in charge of the project. 

On September 11, a member of the parliamentary agriculture and water committee revealed the country’s water reserves at dams and reservoirs had dropped to just five billion cubic meters, about half what they were in June. According to committee member Thaer al-Jubouri, water reserves have continued to dwindle because Turkey did not keep its promise to release additional water volumes from the Tigris and Euphrates. While Turkey claimed it was releasing 400 cubic meters per second of water in July and August, actual flows entering Iraq from Turkey have not exceeded 120 cubic meters per second, the lawmaker argued. In June, Prime Minister Sudani credited his government’s diplomatic efforts with Turkey with an agreement by Ankara to increase water flows to Iraq. Parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani mentioned at the time that Ankara had indeed increased water flows to Iraq to more than 400 cubic meters per second. Iraqi water officials have warned that the current water shortage represents the worst that Iraq has experienced in nearly 80 years.

On September 11, Iraq’s Transportation Ministry said that revenue from port operations increased by more than IQD 65 billion in 2024 compared to 2022. According to ministry spokesman Maytham al-Safi, revenue increased from IQD 174 billion in 2022 to IQD 216 billion in 2023, and again to IQD 239 billion last year. The pattern, according to the spokesman, reflects sustainable growth in revenue, which he attributed to the reforms enacted by the current government. 

Sources cited in this section include: Rudaw, Baghdad Today, ISHM archive, Iraq Observer, INA.

Derived from firsthand accounts and Iraq-based Arabic and Kurdish news sources, the Iraq Security and Humanitarian Monitor is a free publication of the Enabling Peace in Iraq Center.

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