Archive | Politics

Iraq Business News brings you the latest Iraqi politics news, keeping you up to date with the latest information and developments.

PM al-Abadi to Visit US

By John Lee. President Obama will host Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi at the White House on Tuesday, April 14. According to a statement from the United States' Embassy in Baghdad, the Prime Minister’s visit underscores the strategic partnership between the United States and Iraq and the strong U.S. commitment to political and military cooperation […]

KRG "can be Self-Sufficient in Months"

By John Lee. Ashti Hawrami (pictured), KRG energy minister, has said that Iraqi Kurdistan is expected to reach financial self-sufficiency from Baghdad within months, despite central government withholding the region’s 17 percent share of budget. Speaking to Rudaw, he outlined plans to increase oil production to 750,000 bpd by the end of this year. In a […]

Video: Revenge and Reprisals in Iraq?

From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Human Rights Watch says Iraqi civilians are being caught between the "horrors of ISIL and the brutality of Shia militias". The rights group accuses government forces, volunteers and Shia fighters of burning and […]

Iran Gathers Power, as US Further Sidelined

By Mohammed A. Salih for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. While the United States has invested trillions of dollars and thousands of lives since 2003 to bring Iraq into its orbit, today it is Iran that appears to have achieved that […]

Poll: Does Iran have too much Influence on Iraq

Iran's increasing influence on Iraq is very obvious, commercially, politically and militarily, but did the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister go too far in claiming that "Iran is Taking Over Iraq"? The claim has been rejected by Iraq's Foreign Minister, who also pointed to his country's improving relations with Saudi Arabia. But what do, our readers, […]

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GCC Disapproves of Iranian Influence

By Patrick Schmidt. During a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), member states expressed their dissatisfaction with the influence Iran has had in Iraq since the rise of the Islamic State (IS). The GCC announced they supported a united Iraq, recognized its territorial sovereignty and condemned interference in Iraqi internal affairs. Iran’s influence has […]

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Saudi FM: Iran is Taking Over Iraq

By John Lee. The Saudi Foreign Minister, Saud al-Faisal (pictured), has told reporters in Riyadh that “Iran is taking over Iraq.” The comments were made during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry, in which Kerry said the United States was keeping an eye on Iran's 'destabilizing' acts, adding that his country […]

Provinces take ex-Baathists to Court

By Mustafa al Kadhimi for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Iraq Business News. Iraq's de-Baathification crisis resurfaced Feb. 2, when the Cabinet approved amendments to the Justice and Accountability Act, which deals with the country's ex-Baathists and the banning of the Baath […]

World Bank, KRG Partner to Promote Equity

The World Bank Group and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)-Iraq, have launched a social protection program of support to promote equity in living standards and reduce vulnerability. The program is aligned with the government’s efforts to develop a comprehensive social protection system and contributes to the goals of KRGs Vision 2020 of “freedom, health, welfare, […]

Iraq's Corruption Continues Unchecked

By Wassim Bassem for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. An Iraqi contractor who works on road pavement and sewage projects in the Iraqi capital told Al-Monitor, “Government officials as well as senior contractors related to them have stakes in most, if not all, of […]

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Abadi "Tried to Block Turkey/KRG Deal"

By John Lee. BasNews reports that Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi secretly tried to block the Turkish government's deal to lend $500 million [583 billion Iraqi dinars] to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). According to sources, Abadi made the request to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a telephone call. A later request to Turkish […]

Slovakian Diplomat to head up UN Iraq Mission

Secretary-General Appoints Ján Kubiš of Slovakia as His Special Representative for Iraq United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Ján Kubiš (pictured) of Slovakia as his Special Representative for Iraq and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). Mr. Kubiš succeeds Nickolay Mladenov of Bulgaria to whom the Secretary-General […]