The war in #Gaza has deepened the #MiddleEast ’s fault lines. Read Hamzeh Hadad | حمزة حداد's policy brief on the #Iraq - #Iran relationship, and how Western actors can help prevent #Iraq from descending into new conflict 👇 ecfr.eu/publication/pr…

Honoured and privileged to have met Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani at his home near the shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf. His Eminence prayed for Iraq and all Iraqis.

My contribution to Rome MED Dialogues this week:

For any European policy to be successful in #Iraq , it must be designed within a broader framework of ending the war in Gaza & resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict – without which escalation across the Middle East may continue, writes Hamzeh Hadad | حمزة حداد 👇 buff.ly/441tvXQ

Nearly 300 bodies found in mass grave at Gaza hospital

'There were signs of field executions. We do not know if they were buried alive or executed. Most of the bodies are decomposed.'

cnn.com/2024/04/22/mid…

'The term 'Arab street' is used by policymakers to reduce regional public opinion to the rantings of an irrational...mob that might be appeased or repressed but is w/out coherent policy preferences or ideas.'
Marc Lynch on why Arab public opinion matters
foreignaffairs.com/israel/coming-…

Check out Ibrahim S.I Rabaia and Lourdes Habash’s article, The Hidden War on Higher Education: Unmasking the 'Educide' in Gaza, published in Studies 51: The War on Gaza and Middle East Political Science!
pomeps.org/the-hidden-war…

'Palestine emergency services in Gaza have uncovered a mass grave with 50 bodies at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, two weeks after Israeli forces withdrew from the area.' aje.io/za80m2

The lack of a Palestinian state & ongoing conflict only empowers armed groups closely affiliated with Iran, which endangers Iraq & risks drawing it into a broader regional conflict.

On the economic side, Iraq is a crucial partner to Iran. The trade balance is in Iran’s favour, but that does not mean Baghdad does not have a strong position economically, as Tehran has few alternatives in accessing US dollars & reaching the global market under sanctions.

The paper covers many facets of the Iraq-Iran relationship.

On the political side, the electoral competitiveness of the parties close to Iran is far less than many believe. Including in southern Iraq, as shown by Basra, Karbala, & Wasit in the 2023 provincial elections.

Read Hamzeh Hadad | حمزة حداد's latest policy brief in which he elaborates on the complexity of the evolving Iraqi-Iranian relationship and the consequences of these dynamics amid the regional instability provoked by the war in Gaza @ECFRMENA
ecfr.eu/publication/pr…

An honour to be part of the latest issue of POMEPS regarding the war in Gaza. My essay focuses on the erosion of trust between the West & civil society in Iraq/Middle East as a result of the war.

Thank you to Marc Lynch & POMEPS team.

Fundraising campaign to evacuate families from Gaza to Egypt thread. Please support as much as you can 🙏🏽

And yet, if you dare express that you’re interested in a “non-academic” post graduate path in your admissions essay or in the course of your graduate career, you will likely be rejected or the program will neglect you because you’re not going to be a useful statistic for them.

New ECFR paper by Hamzeh Hadad | حمزة حداد assessing Iraq's place in the deepening regional confrontation provoked by the Gaza war with a focus on Iraq's relations with Iran

الكويت والعراق بحاجة ماسة إلى تعزيز علاقاتهما وتعاونهما المشترك عبر إطلاق عملية تفاوضية متكاملة تمنح الطرفين المرونة اللازمة لحل المسائل الخلافية وبلورة رؤية مشتركة تدفع بعلاقات أوثق بين البلدين

جزء من مداخلتي في الجلسة الافتتاحية لملتقى السليمانية. شكرا American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS) على الدعوة