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Tehran's concerns over the activities of Iranian anti-regime groups based in the Kurdistan region were sufficient for recently-appointed Supreme National Security Council secretary Ali Akbar Ahmadian to make talks on the issue with his federal Iraqi counterpart Qassem Al-Araji an early priority – and for veiled threats about cross-border action to shut down Iraq-based dissidents if Baghdad doesn't respond.

A major sticking point to be resolved in debates over elections to Iraq's Kurdistan Parliament is whether to reform a system that sets aside 11 seats for ethnic and religious minorities in the 111-seat chamber. Five seats are reserved for Christians, five for Turkmens and one for an Armenian representative.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) ended its boycott of cabinet meetings in early May, as it bowed to international pressure to seek compromise with its main rival, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). However, hopes have since withered that it might spark a more deep-seated process of co-operation on key issues, amid disputes over regional elections and the federal budget in Iraq.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani has launched an ambitious project to develop a $17bn transport network linking the north and south of Iraq. The Development Road Initiative will start at the under-construction Grand Faw port in the south and travel northwards via 1,200km of rail lines and roads.

Iraq has extended a contract to import Iranian gas by a further five years, following talks in Baghdad between Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Sudani and visiting Iranian oil minister Javad Owji in May.

Iraq has been hosting reconciliation talks between Iranian and Egyptian officials which should lead to the reestablishment of diplomatic relations "in the near future".

Iraq's Kurdish Peshmerga forces continue to be controlled by the KDP and PUK, despite efforts over many years to wrest control away from the region’s two main political parties and hand them over to the non-partisan Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs. The encouragement of foreign governments – who have spent years and significant resources on support and training programmes to modernise and professionalise the Peshmerga – have not yet resulted in meaningful change.

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) is to host the 2024 Confederation of Independent Football Associations (Conifa) World Football Cup, with 16 teams competing. Conifa caters for teams representing ethnic or linguistic minorities, indigenous groups and unrecognised territories.

Government of Iraq in Baghdad and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Erbil reached a new agreement on control of Kurdish oil exports on 1 April, days after the crude pipeline to Turkey was shuttered in response to an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration ruling. However, many questions remain over both sides’ longer-term approach, as well as the attitude of Turkey and international oil companies to the new arrangements.

Election law: Iraq’s parliament voted on 20 March to maintain the number of seats in the chamber at 329 for the next election. Five seats will be reserved for Christians, with one seat each reserved for the Sabean-Mandaean, Shabak, Faily Kurd and Yazidi minorities.

Baghdad deal: Federal Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Sudani said on 13 March that Baghdad and Erbil had reached “a comprehensive agreement” on their outstanding differences, including oil revenues. He said a deal had been reached for all Kurdish oil revenues to be placed in a bank account “without any deductions”. Those funds could be spent by the Kurdistan authorities, subject to supervision by the federal government.

The world has changed radically in the two decades since the United States-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, but few of the key players appear to have changed their minds on whether the invasion was justified – and many supporters continue to distance themselves from responsibility for the tumultuous events that followed. GSN followed the build-up to the conflict with great attention, as western intelligence and other agencies searched for a ‘smoking gun’ that didn’t really exist.

If it were a small nation, Basra could be a wealthy petrostate like Abu Dhabi or Kuwait. Instead, it is Iraq’s poorest province, despite producing 90% of government revenues. It has though been growing in stature and influence – underlined by the success in hosting the Gulf Cup football tournament in January.

Overall, the Iraqi delegation - led by foreign minister Fuad Hussein, and included  bankers, businessmen and spin-doctors - left Washington satisfied by the positive optics around the US-Iraq partnership and broad acceptance of prime minister Mohammed Al-Sudani's agenda.  

Leaked Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) documents suggest the region’s crude oil production could reach 580,000 b/d by 2027, compared to about 430,000 b/d in 2022 – but only under the most optimistic scenario where investment is fully optimised.