The Takeaway: Uneasy calm returns to Iraq but deep divisions remain
Israel’s top figures divided on Iran deal; Turkish pop star arrested; Iranian museum fumigates for bugs; Cairo evicts Nile island residents; and Hamas reacts to Turkish-Israel rapprochement.
Our take: Baghdad’s worst period of violence in years has subsided, but the underlying tensions between Iraq’s Shiite political factions have not.
President Joe Biden and Iraq’s caretaker Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi spoke by phone Wednesday after fighting in the capital this week killed more than 30 people and injured hundreds, in an unnerving episode of violence set against the backdrop of Iraq’s political gridlock.
The two leaders “welcomed the return of security to the streets, and called on all Iraqi leaders to engage in a national dialogue to forge a common way forward,” according to a White House readout of the call.
How we got here. Iraq has been in a state of political limbo since its parliamentary elections in October 2021. Candidates loyal to firebrand Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr emerged from the nationwide poll with the most seats, but not enough to form a majority government.
