As part of a continued collaboration with the Middle East Peace and Security Forum held in Iraqi Kurdistan at the American University of Kurdistan, the Middle East Institute and the Iraq Policy Group held a workshop on Nov. 15, 2022 focusing on challenges of economic diversification, energy transition, and impacts on labor markets in Iraq and the Gulf region. Our one-day worksh
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In the past week, a series of court orders were issued against me including freezing of my assets and the issue of a warrant for my arrest. These measures were related to the so-called theft of the century. The charge against me was specifically for “facilitating the theft of the trust accounts of the tax authority.” I have no detailed information as to what these charges are b
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(Beirut) – Iraq’s environmental activists are facing threats, harassment, and arbitrary detention by government officials and armed groups, Human Rights Watch said today. On February 16, 2023, leading Iraqi environmentalist Jassim al-Asadi was released after being abducted on February 1 by an unidentified armed group and held for more than two weeks. Al-Asadi said in a TV in
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As global oil prices soar, smugglers are exploiting the lucrative profit margin between Iraq’s subsidized fuel and black-market rates elsewhere. Smugglers move the country’s oil to and through the contested Kurdish region, exacerbating nationwide shortages and depriving the state of much-needed income. These illicit oil flows are also funding Iranian-backed militias, creating b
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Climate Change Inaction Threatens Iraq’s Social Stability and Long-Term Economic Development Prospects Baghdad, Nov 9, 2022 – Climate change, in particular increasing water scarcity, could further threaten Iraq’s fragile social contract under an oil-led growth model that has been a source of economic volatility. According to the new World Bank Group’s Country Climate and Dev
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