BAGHDAD: Iraq’s deadliest wave of protests since the 2003 ouster of dictator Saddam Hussein has made the country vulnerable to a battle for influence between its two main competing allies, the United States and Iran, analysts say.
This response cost Iran “a lot of credit and support in Iraq, especially among Shiites,” said Dagher. Caught in the middle, Abdel Mahdi is “even weaker and more vulnerable to pressure from the largest political blocs,” said Maria Fantappie, an International Crisis Group Iraq analyst. But in a crisis-ridden and increasingly fractured region, a country like Iraq – which attempts to maintain relations with all, from Iran to the United States, Saudi Arabia to Syria – is a major asset for all.A stable Iraq is vital for Iran. Stifled by US sanctions, Tehran is committed to maintaining its €6 billion annual exports to Iraq.
But this “could be like opening a Pandora’s box, given a stagnating political system, mounting popular frustrations and the perennial difficulty of forming a government” in a country caught between rival powers.
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