Category: Iraq
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Iraq Shuts Iran’s Gate
Starting Wednesday at 6 a.m., Iraq closed the Al-Sheeb border crossing in Maysan province to all passengers, vehicles, and commercial trucks on direct orders from Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi. Officials cite security precautions amid U.S.-Iran escalation risks, with plans to shut additional crossings soon and install anti-smuggling equipment. The move disrupts over $10 billion in…
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Managed Chaos
The Middle East Peace and Security (MEPS) Forum 2025—the 6th edition of this annual event—kicked off on November 18, 2025, in Duhok, capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region (KRG). Hosted by the KRG under Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and the American University of Kurdistan, with partners like Harvard and the Atlantic Council, the forum draws ~120…
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Iraq and Syria Move to Revive Strategic Kirkuk–Banias Oil Pipeline
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced that Iraq and Syria have jointly appointed a consultant to explore the revival of the Kirkuk–Banias oil pipeline. Once a vital route for transporting Iraqi crude from the Kirkuk fields to Syria’s Mediterranean port of Banias, the pipeline has been out of operation for decades due to regional…
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Turkey Secures Strategic Leverage in Iraq
Iraq, Turkey sign deal on Iraqi water infrastructure projects. What is your most up-to-date and in-depth assessment? ME-100, Chief of Middle East: Here is my analysis of the recent Iraq‑Turkey water‑infrastructure deal, through the lens of steering control, essence, power dynamics and oscillation. SummaryOn 2 November 2025, Iraq and Turkey signed an implementation mechanism for their…
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Turkey’s Iraq Pipeline Strategy
The under-utilisation of an oil pipeline between Iraq and Turkey is unfortunate and Ankara wants a “new and vibrant phase” in the matter to benefit both parties and the region, a senior Turkish official told Reuters on Monday. In a presidential decision published in the Official Gazette earlier on Monday, Ankara said the Turkey-Iraq Crude…