Iraq’s sovereignty dilemma between Washington and Tehran

No modern state has suffered as much as Iraq in trying to define the meaning of sovereignty since 2003. Here, “sovereignty” is not a constitutional principle but a definitional trap—one that grows more convoluted as the conflict between the United States and Iran deepens, and as Iraq turns into an open arena where three actors fight on its soil while the state itself stands outside the frame. At the very moment US forces strike Iran‑aligned militias, Iran launches attacks inside Iraq under the pretext of targeting American interests, while Iraqi proxy groups retaliate by hitting US diplomatic sites and military facilities within the country. Iraq thus becomes the only state in the region bombed by two foreign powers and used […]