The INSS hosted a panel of experts to discuss the current situation in Iraq, the role of pro-Iranian Shiite militias, and Iraq’s transformation into a hub of the Iran-led Shiite axis. Against the backdrop of Iraq’s recent parliamentary elections (November 2025), Dr. Michael Knights, an expert on Iraq and the Gulf states, and Elizabeth Tsurkov, a senior fellow at the New Lines Institute, join Dr. Yaron Schneider to examine the threats to Israel emerging from the Iraqi arena, the rise of pro-Iranian Shiite militias in Iraq—across military, political, and economic dimensions—and the growing gap between the democratic vision the United States sought to implement following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003 and today’s political reality.
The discussion also explores Iraq’s importance to Iran not only as a base for operating proxies in the military sphere, but also as an “economic lung.” In addition, the panel assesses how U.S. policy toward Iraq has shifted in recent years in response to Iranian involvement and militia activity, and whether this approach is effective in achieving its objectives.