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EXPERT COMMENT

The US-Israeli war on Iran has disrupted oil exports, pushed up prices and deepened fears of electricity shortages.

Iraq has been increasingly dragged into the US and Israel’s war with Iran, with both sides attacking each other on its territory. Civilians have suffered as rockets and drones fall near residential buildings in cities including Baghdad and Erbil. 

The war has also exposed the fragility of Iraq’s economy and society. Most Iraqis are facing this latest conflict with limited financial resources and minimal savings, and with low confidence in the state to protect them from the war’s impact.

For many households, the war has caused anxiety over whether they will keep receiving their salaries or be able to access food and medicine. There are also concerns over whether electricity supplies will continue as temperatures rise ahead of summer. 

Suspected Iranian attacks on two tankers in Iraqi waters near the port town of Al Fao in early March have also highlighted Iraq’s heavy dependence on maritime trade. The disruption to Gulf shipping is already constraining imports and leaving Iraq-bound cargo stranded or delayed. 

For a country that moves more than 90 per cent of its trade by sea, prolonged disruption in the Gulf risks hitting Iraq’s economy and depriving it of crucial oil exports that finance the majority of the state’s budget.

Click here to continue reading the full version of this Expert Comment on the Chatham House website.