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What Does ‘Maximum Pressure’ on Iran Mean for Iraq?

What Does ‘Maximum Pressure’ on Iran Mean for Iraq?

Thursday, March 13, 2025

On March 8, the United States allowed a waiver to expire that had permitted Iraq to buy Iranian electricity. The move was the latest in the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign to cut off Iran’s revenue streams and push Tehran to negotiate over its controversial nuclear program. The waiver dates back to President Trump’s first term. In 2018, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which had granted Iran sanctions relief in return for curbing its nuclear program and expanding cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog.

Type: Question and Answer

Sectarian Violence Threatens Syria’s Shaky Transition

Sectarian Violence Threatens Syria’s Shaky Transition

Monday, March 10, 2025

Syria is witnessing the most significant sectarian violence since the fall of the Assad regime on December 8, 2024. Unverified estimates put the death toll over 1,000, with civilians comprising the vast majority of those killed. Clashes have largely been centered in Alawite strongholds along Syria’s Mediterranean coast, from the city of Tartus north to Latakia. The violence prompted large-scale protests in Damascus and other cities, while many anxious Alawite families have fled their homes along the coast. Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Shara, has called for “civil peace” and announced the launching of an independent committee to investigate the killings.

Type: Question and Answer

The Current Situation in Yemen

The Current Situation in Yemen

Monday, March 3, 2025

Yemen’s regionalized civil war has divided the country, destroyed its meager infrastructure and created one the worst humanitarian crises in the world. From the start, it has been connected to a regional competition between Saudi Arabia (which has supported the internationally backed Yemeni government) and Iran (which has supported the Houthis). A U.N.-backed truce in 2022 brought relative calm to internal frontlines and, with help from the Sultanate of Oman and Saudi Arabia, the U.N. made progress toward a roadmap agreement to end the war. This progress was upended by the Gaza war in 2023, as the Houthis attacked Israel and international shipping through the Red Sea corridor. Houthi attacks, including on commercial shipping and U.S. naval assets, frayed international support for a peace deal that would see resources flow to the group and have set the country on different trajectory.

Type: Fact Sheet

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