By Dr Renad Mansour, Chatham House. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Can Iraq's New Prime Minister Finally Rein in its Armed Factions? The Iran war has seemingly created a potential opportunity to integrate armed groups into the state. But significant hurdles […]
By John Lee. American journalist Shelly Kittleson has expressed her gratitude to those who worked for her release, after she was taken hostage by an armed faction in Baghdad earlier this month. Ms Kittleson was released on 7th April. Full statement from Shelly Kittleson: I am and will always be incredibly grateful to those who […]
By John Lee. Rewards for Justice (RFJ), the US Department of State's national security rewards program, has offered a reward of up to $10 million for information on the leader of Kata'ib Hizballah (KH), Ahmad al-Hamidawi. The Department of State designated al-Hamidawi as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) in 2020. Full statement from Rewards […]
By Michael Knights for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Deterring Iraqi Militia Attacks Kataib Hezbollah (KH), Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba (HaN), and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS) ... [are] keen to impress their patrons in Tehran […]
By Michael Knights for the Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) at West Point. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Rise of the E-Militias: Designated Terrorist Groups Infest Iraq's Digital Economy Iraq's digital economy is one of its fastest-growing sectors, driven by an expanding […]
By John Lee. An Iraqi government spokesman has said Iraq views recent US sanctions against Iraqi enities, including the Muhandis General Company [Sharakat al-Muhandis al-Amma], as "deeply regrettable," describing it as a unilateral action that contradicts the spirit of friendship and mutual respect between the two countries. Basim Alawadi added that the Prime Minister has […]
By John Lee. The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed new sanctions targeting individuals and companies accused of helping the Iranian regime evade US sanctions, smuggle weapons, and engage in corruption through networks operating in Iraq. According to a statement from OFAC, the designations target Iraq-based financial and […]
By Akeel Abbas for the Atlantic Council. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Can Iraq's partial crackdown on a powerful militia weaken Iran's proxies? The Iraqi government's unprecedented accusation that the US-designated Kataib Hezbollah (KH) carried out a deadly armed attack […]
By Michael Knights, for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Leveraging Iran's Defeat to Strengthen U.S.-Iraq Security Relations Tehran's Iraqi proxies mostly sat out the twelve-day war, but this pragmatic restraint will not forestall growing […]
By Michael Knights, for the Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) at West Point. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraqi Oil and the Iran Threat Network Iran-backed terrorist groups and militias are developing significant new strands of threat financing using Iraq's oil sector, […]
By Michael Knights and Hamdi Malik for Foreign Affairs. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iran Could Lose Iraq The Axis of Resistance Is Primed to Take Another Hit. Click here to read the full story.
By David Schenker for The National Interest. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraqis Fear That Trump's America Will Depart Once and For All Baghdad has good reason to be concerned about the trajectory of the U.S.-Iraq relationship. Click here to read […]
