Podcast: Trying to Loosen Iran’s Grip on Iraq
I recently went on Sibylline’s “What Just Happened?” podcast hosted by Marco Giannangeli to discuss the proposals of Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to disarm the Shi’a militias that answer to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which is supposed to take place by 30 September 2026, the same date the United States is set to withdraw the last of its troops from Iraq.
The discussion covers the politics in Baghdad that led up to this, whether disarmament can work, whether it would impact the Iranian hold over Iraq if it did, and the role of the United States, since President Donald Trump has very publicly bet on Al-Zaidi as a partner.