Iraq

The new talk of a possible deal that might involve Iran and the US could lead to pressuring Iraq's central government to rein in Iranian-backed militias.

A weekly selection of opinions and analyses from the Arab media around the world.

Iraq has some reticence, in part because Iranian-backed militias in Iraq oppose the new government in Damascus. However, trade may prove more important than sectarian ideology.

In a video published in early May, Reuters revealed that the Iraqi government had announced an initial budget of $382,000 to restore the ziggurat. The work will reportedly be completed by July 2026.

Foreign fighters and sleeper cells remain a security concern as the group tries to revive its networks after years of territorial collapse.

The head of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency, Raphael Grossi, warned that a direct hit on the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant would result in a "very high release of radioactivity."

Iraq condemned recent drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, vowed cooperation in the investigation, and moved to distance Iranian-backed militias amid growing US pressure.

The attack follows a drone attack in the area of Abu Dhabi’s Barakah nuclear plant on Sunday. The two attacks could be connected, although it is too early to tell.

The report comes a week after the Wall Street Journal reported on a first secret military base Israel had built in a remote part of the Iraqi desert.

On May 15, the US Justice Department announced “the arrest of Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, an Iraqi national and senior member of Kataib Hezbollah,” the department said.