IntelBrief: Iraq Faces a Myriad of External and Internal Pressures

Bottom Line up Front

• Iraq continues to face varied challenges, including domestic divisions within and between its major communities, as well as pressure from its powerful neighbor, the Islamic Republic of Iran.
• Tehran’s Shia allies in Iraq, who dominate the Baghdad government, are attempting to limit Iraqi Kurdish self-rule in northern Iraq.
• Divisions within the Kurdish community in northern Iraq have widened, complicating the Kurds’ partnership with the United States against the Islamic State (ISIS).
• Iraq’s December provincial elections will increase tensions among major parties and factions and are unlikely to resolve the country’s many political challenges.