Iran war halts Iraq’s momentum

Iran war halts Iraq’s momentum

Over 20 years after the US-led invasion upended the country, Iraq was starting to build momentum.The country had entered a period of relative calm, with ISIS out of the picture ever since its caliphate crumbled in 2019. The country was warming to democracy: turnout hit 56% in the 2025 parliamentary elections, 13 points higher than in the previous parliamentary votes four years prior, and a third of the candidates were women. Its economy, too, wa…