Iraqis wary of escalation as Iran gloats over Trump’s midterm losses
Despite Tehran celebrating President Donald Trump’s midterm setback, Iraqis are skeptical that the election results will ease tensions between the US and Iran or reduce the risk of renewed conflict.
AMMAN — Some Iraqis breathed a sigh of relief following the sweeping losses for US President Donald Trump’s Republican Party in the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
Many of them interpret the midterm election results “as a sign that tensions between Washington and Tehran might ease,” an Interior Ministry official in Nineveh province told Al-Monitor on Nov. 5. “But I think this optimism overlooks something: The two main American parties are not far apart on core foreign policy, including toward Iran and the region.”
Balancing interests and threats while building a stronger state is one of the many tasks facing Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s government, Iraqis say. Many are, however, tired of having to focus more on what happens in Washington and Tehran than in Baghdad.
Since the US-Israel-Iran war began early this year, Iraq has tried to avoid being pulled into a conflict that could prove detrimental to the hard-won gains in reconstruction and development in recent years.
