The Soleimani Effect: A Game-Changer for Iraqi Crude Dynamics? By Ahmed Mehdi

The changing geopolitical landscape for Iraq’s energy sector   Much ink has been spilled over the past week assessing the current confrontation between the US and Iran following the US-ordered airstrike against Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Quds force and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces

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Iran’s Retaliation Could Cause A Middle East Oil Shock. By Gregory R. Copley

Iran’s clerical leadership, under “Supreme Leader” Ayatollah Ali HoseiniKhamene‘i, is expected to make rapid, significant, and symbolic responses to the targeted killing in Baghdad on January 3, 2019, of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander Maj.-Gen. Qasem Soleimani. It seems unlikely that the Iranian response would initially be to launch a military assault

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A Wonder To Behold: Craftsmanship and the Creation of Babylon’s Ishtar Gate’ Review: Opening the History of a Magnificent Portal. By Melik Kaylan

The exhibition takes a holistic approach to the celebrated monument, from its construction to its stunning re-creation.   New York We all used to visit museum shows about antiquity to feast our eyes on gorgeous objects and imagine the cultural wealth of, say, ancient Egypt, Greece or Rome. These days, curators are increasingly changing and deepening the experience

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