'Acute risk' that Iraq could become once again victim of internal conflict as Iran war progresses

AFP / France 24
by FRANCE24
March 18, 2026
3 min read

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A Princeton fellow warns Iraq faces acute risk of internal conflict as the Iran war escalates, threatening regional stability.

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Zaid Al-Ali, a Visiting Fellow at Princeton University and former UN advisor in Iraq, warned that Iraq faces an "acute risk" of renewed internal conflict as the Iran war escalates. Until the recent outbreak of war in Iran, Iraq had managed to balance competing interests from both the United States and Iran without being pulled decisively toward either side. Al-Ali's assessment suggests that the widening regional conflict is forcing Iraq into an untenable position, threatening the fragile stability it has maintained since the defeat of ISIS. Iraq's strategic location and diverse population—split between Sunni and Shia communities with varying external allegiances—make it particularly vulnerable to being dragged into a larger proxy struggle. The warning underscores how regional powers' military escalation risks destabilizing countries caught in the middle.

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