Iraq's politics, oil policy and defense modernization under its current government, covering oil production and export expansion, pipeline and gas projects, arms and air-defense procurement, relations with the United States and Iran, and the future of Iran-backed armed factions.
Iraq under Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi has entered the post-coalition era: the US-led coalition's military mission ended on 30 September 2026, and Baghdad is building an integrated national air-defense architecture focused first on counter-UAS, radars and command and control, drawing on Turkish, South Korean, US and French programs alongside the Harmattan AI letter of intent and a pending Rafale F4 deal.
Al-Zaidi has pushed the militia disarmament deadline to 30 June 2027 under a six-point plan backed by Washington, while US financial leverage over the Central Bank of Iraq keeps pressure on Iran-backed factions.
Parliament completed the government on 15 October, approving three deputy prime ministers including Laith al-Khazali.
On energy, the file covers Oil Minister Bassim Mohammad Khudair's drive toward 7 million bpd and a larger OPEC+ baseline, a new exploration package for US majors, the TotalEnergies gas MoU, the Basra-Haditha pipeline and the Iraq-Syria corridor, and Al-Zaidi's talks with MBS on security tensions and economic ties.
Built for Iraq-focused defense exporters, energy desks, Kurdistan analysts, GCC security planners and Iran sanctions desks.
