Iraq: The Next Front With Iran

Iranian missile and drone strikes across northern Iraq, US financial pressure on Baghdad, and militia activity are transforming Iraq from a secondary theatre into an active frontline in the broader US–Iran confrontation. Kurdish regions are uniquely exposed because of limited air‑defenses and Baghdad’s contested control, producing humanitarian and sovereignty crises. — If Iraq becomes a de‑facto battlefield, US policy choices (financing, arming partners, force posture) will reshape regional stability, Iraqi sovereignty, and refugee/terror dynamics across the Middle East.