Iraq Forms New Government amid Regional Turmoil

(Lahib Higel – Crisis Group) On 14 May, six months after general elections were held in November 2025, Iraq’s parliament approved a still-incomplete government led by a newly appointed prime minister, Ali al-Zaidi. A young billionaire businessman with no political or government experience, Zaidi emerged as an unconventional compromise candidate after months of deadlock within Iraq’s Shiite ruling coalition, the Coordination Framework. Zaidi inherits an office facing multiple crises. The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran that began 28 February has turned Iraq into a battleground where the government can neither protect its sovereignty nor enforce the state’s monopoly on the use of force. All three of the main warring parties have struck targets in Iraq, and Iran-aligned armed groups have defied Baghdad’s official policy of neutrality by staging attacks from Iraqi territory. Relations with Washington and Gulf Arab capitals have deteriorated as a result. Meanwhile, Iraq’s economy is under severe strain after Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz halted most oil exports, depriving the state of its primary source of revenue. – Iraq Forms New Government amid Regional Turmoil | International Crisis Group