Democratic Republic of the Congo

Equatorial Guinea

Gabon

Nigeria

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Algeria

Iran

Iraq

Kuwait

Libya

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United Arab Emirates

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Economics

Energy

Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and other OPEC+ participants will delay the start of their planned unwinding of 2.2 million barrels per day in voluntary oil production cuts from Dec. 1 to the end of December, OPEC announced in a Nov. 3 press release. 

OPEC+: Unwinding of Voluntary Production Cuts Delayed by One Month

Politics

The Iraqi parliament broke its deadlock and elected Sunni lawmaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani to be the parliamentary speaker after he secured the position with 182 votes in support of him out of the 329-seat body, Reuters reported Oct. 31. 

Iraq: Iraqi Parliament Breaks Deadlock and Elects New Speaker

Israel

Military & Security

Iran is reportedly planning to launch a "major" retaliatory attack against Israel from Iraq possibly ahead of the Nov. 5 U.S. general election, Axios reported on Oct. 31, citing Israeli intelligence sources.

Israel, Iran, Iraq: Iran Reportedly Planning to Attack Israel From Iraq

Syria

Israel-Hamas Conflict

The Israel Defense Forces carried out "precise strikes" on "military targets" in Iran early in the morning on Oct. 26, the IDF confirmed in a statement posted to X after media reports emerged saying that loud explosions occurred in Tehran and Karaj, a suburb about 20 miles northwest of Tehran.

Israel, Iran: Israel Launches Strikes on Iranian 'Military Targets'

Turkey

The Turkish air force conducted airstrikes on 47 targets in northern Iraq and Syria belonging to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, and the People's Protection Units, or YPG, on Oct. 23 just hours after the PKK conducted a fatal terrorist attack on Turkish Aerospace Industries, Al Jazeera reported on Oct. 24.

Turkey: Air Force Strikes 47 Kurdish Militant Targets in Northern Iraq and Syria

Iraqi Kurdistan held parliamentary elections for 100 lawmakers on Oct. 20, and Rudaw reported a 72% voter turnout rate the next day.

Iraq: KDP Wins Largest Bloc in Kurdistan Parliamentary Elections

United States

The United States announced the U.S.-led coalition's military mission in Iraq would conclude by the end of 2025 as the first part of a two-phase transition, though it was not called a "full withdrawal," AP reported on Sept. 27.

U.S., Iraq: U.S. Announces End to U.S.-Led Coalition's Iraq Mission in 2025

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian concluded his first trip abroad since taking office in July with a trip to Iraq, which took place from Sept. 11-13 and included visits to Baghdad, Iraqi Kurdistan and Basra, Rudaw reported Sept. 13.

Iran: President Pezeshkian Finishes First Foreign Visit to Iraq

Assessments

Qatar

Moldova

The first day of early voting in the Nov. 5 U.S. election Oct. 21, 2024, in Stamford, Connecticut. U.S. voters will select a new president, 435 representatives, 34 senators, and any number of state and municipal officials Nov. 5.

Global Elections

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: America Votes, Qatar's Constitutional Referendum

Snapshots

A general view of Tehran after several explosions amid an Israeli attack were heard there Oct. 26, 2024.

Israel's long-awaited response to Iran's Oct. 1 strike proves restrained, limiting the risk of all-out war.

Israel's Measured Attack on Iran Calibrated to Avoid a Response

Media

Graphics

Members of the Kurdish peshmerga security forces queue at a polling station to vote ahead of the Oct. 20 parliamentary election in Arbil, the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, on Oct. 18, 2024. 

Following belated parliamentary elections in Iraqi Kurdistan, explore the most prominent Kurdish groups in the Middle East.

Iraqi Kurdistan's Parliamentary Elections Highlight Two Major Kurdish Groups in the Middle East

Columns

On Geopolitics

Lebanon

Palestinian Territories

Yemen

An Israeli tank Aug. 7, 2024, in southern Israel along the border with the Gaza Strip. Washington may change the regional dynamics substantially before the next Oct. 7; if not, we will likely be marking a second anniversary of regional conflict next year. 

U.S.-Iran Relations

Washington may change the regional dynamics substantially before the next Oct. 7; if not, we will likely be marking a second anniversary of regional conflict next year.

Will War in the Middle East Last Another Year?

Ethiopia

Sudan

Middle East and North Africa

Bahrain

Egypt

Jordan

Oman

The Geopolitics of Water

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

Population growth, security vacuums, bad governance and climate change will increasingly strain the desert region's already scarce water supplies, raising the risk of social unrest, interstate conflict and violence from non-state actors.

The Geopolitics of Water: In the Middle East, Water Will Increasingly Become a Weapon and Driver of Conflict

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R) and Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Muhammad Ali Tamim on April 15 in Washington. Although a U.S. troop drawdown from Iraq is unlikely to lead to a resurgence in the Islamic State or to have significant economic impacts, tensions between Iraqi nationalists and Iranian-backed pro-Tehran Shiites could cause violence in the event of growing Iranian influence.

Although a U.S. troop drawdown from Iraq is unlikely to lead to a resurgence in the Islamic State or to have significant economic impacts, tensions between Iraqi nationalists and Iranian-backed pro-Tehran Shiites could cause violence in the event of growing Iranian influence.

Security in Iraq After a U.S. Withdrawal

People watch a televised speech of Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Hasan Nasrallah commemorating the seventh-century killing of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Imam Hussein, in Beirut, Lebanon, on July 17, 2024.

Despite their unified vision, groups within the Iranian-led Axis of Resistance are unlikely to sacrifice their strategic imperatives for one another, leaving them vulnerable to Israeli attacks.

Assessing the Strategic Imperatives of the Iranian-Led 'Axis of Resistance'

An Israeli air force Samson C-130J Super Hercules cargo plane flies over the Israeli coastal city of Netanya toward northern Israel on Aug. 25, 2024, after Israel launched airstrikes targeting Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

Israel's recent preemptive strike on Hezbollah reflects an increasing willingness to strike Iran's regional proxies -- and potentially even Iran itself -- to interdict their impending attacks, raising the risk of a larger regional war.

As It Awaits Iran's Retaliation, Israel Mulls More Preemptive Strikes

A media department run by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) is seen inside a mountain north of Iraq's Dohuk province in June 2013.

The offensive will seek to eliminate the threat posed by Kurdish militants near the Gara region, but fears of international backlash will deter Turkey from expanding its efforts into other areas of Iraq or Syria.

What To Make of Turkey's Renewed Offensive in Northern Iraq

Podcasts

What do organizations need to know as this relationship evolves? 

Essential Geopolitics: What to Know About the Future of Turkey-Iraq Relations

The Jordanian flag. Jordan will remain aligned with the United States and Israel, which will result in a heightened risk of attacks by Iranian proxies and growing risks of radicalization.

Jordan will remain aligned with the United States and Israel, which will result in a heightened risk of attacks by Iranian proxies and growing risks of radicalization.

Jordan's Alignment With Israel Will Put It in Iran's Crosshairs

Iran's large missile and drone attack will prompt an Israeli retaliation that will focus on reestablishing deterrence and preventing future similar attacks on Israel, but in doing so, Israel risks expanding the conflict, further sinking the region into turmoil and possibly dragging in the United States.

How Israel Might Respond to the Iranian Attack

<p>Iraq rests at the heart of the Middle East, wedged between large and small powers alike. The country is divided into three topographic zones: the riverlands of Mesopotamia, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; the western and southern deserts, which reach into Saudi Arabia and Syria; and the highlands of Iraqi Kurdistan. The southern deserts shield Iraq from attack, while the northern highlands impede any attempt at conquest from Anatolia. But the open Syrian Desert provides a route into Iraq from Syria, especially along the Euphrates River, and the country&rsquo;s eastern frontier has few natural barriers to prevent invasion from Iran. The flat riverlands are similarly vulnerable to incursion from any power able to land an army from the Persian Gulf. Historically, foreign forces have used these routes as a means to penetrate Iraq&rsquo;s borders. In premodern times, Iraq&rsquo;s wealth came from its agricultural core, which forms the heart of the Fertile Crescent and stretches to the Persian Gulf. The country&rsquo;s 37 million people are still mostly concentrated in these farmlands today. But the discovery of oil in the north, east and south have shifted Iraq&rsquo;s economic core from the agricultural riverlands to the northern highlands and the Iranian border, bringing prosperity to cities such as Mosul, Arbil and Kirkuk. For most of its history, Iraq has been dominated by its neighbors, which have left behind unique cultural, religious and ethnic legacies. The Sunni Ottoman Turks and the Shiite Safavid Persians helped produce the country&rsquo;s modern Sunni and Shiite communities, while the sparsely inhabited western desert continues to have tribal and sectarian links to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria. Some of these groups have kept their relationships with Iraq&rsquo;s neighbors, which leverage those ties for their own strategic purposes. Meanwhile, in Iraq&rsquo;s northern highlands, the indigenous Kurds have managed to maintain a cohesive identity throughout centuries of foreign domination. This isolation occasionally gives rise to Kurdish secessionism. As the northern highlands drift further from the central government&rsquo;s control, the Sunni, Shiite, Christian and other communities of the riverlands and deserts jockey with one another for dominance of the state. Iraq&rsquo;s geographic challenge is therefore to protect its vulnerable oil fields while managing a diverse population that is susceptible to external influence.</p>

SITUATION REPORTS

OPEC+: Unwinding of Voluntary Production Cuts Delayed by One Month

Iraq: Iraqi Parliament Breaks Deadlock and Elects New Speaker

Israel, Iran, Iraq: Iran Reportedly Planning to Attack Israel From Iraq

Israel, Iran: Israel Launches Strikes on Iranian 'Military Targets'

Turkey: Air Force Strikes 47 Kurdish Militant Targets in Northern Iraq and Syria

Iraq: KDP Wins Largest Bloc in Kurdistan Parliamentary Elections

U.S., Iraq: U.S. Announces End to U.S.-Led Coalition's Iraq Mission in 2025

Iran: President Pezeshkian Finishes First Foreign Visit to Iraq

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