Wire report
Iraq’s impossible predicament: why the country is trapped between Iran and the US
With the outbreak of this year’s war, Iraq’s balancing act between the two antagonists has collapsed, exposing a perilously fragile state • The summer issue of the Long Read magazine is out now. Click here to order One week after the United States and Israel killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and ignited a regional war, drones started flying over Basra in southern Iraq. They were targeting Iraq’s oil industry. They hit an oilfield operated by BP, as well as a cargo terminal at Basra airport and a large compound that houses foreign companies that service the oil sector. Another attack on 6 March hit the same compound, striking offices and warehouses used by Halliburton and KBR, two US companies that have been in Iraq since the 2003 invasion. The attack sparked a massive fire that lit up the night sky. In the wider war, it was not a particularly notable day – but in Iraq the strikes laid b
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With the outbreak of this year’s war, Iraq’s balancing act between the two antagonists has collapsed, exposing a perilously fragile state • The summer issue of the Long Read magazine is out now. Click here to order One week after the United States and Israel killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and ignited a regional war, drones started flying over Basra in southern Iraq. They were targeting Iraq’s oil industry. They hit an oilfield operated by BP, as well as a cargo terminal at Basra airport and a large compound that houses foreign companies that service the oil sector. Another attack on 6 March hit the same compound, striking offices and warehouses used by Halliburton and KBR, two US companies that have been in Iraq since the 2003 invasion. The attack sparked a massive fire that lit up the night sky. In the wider war, it was not a particularly notable day – but in Iraq the strikes laid b
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What happened
According to The Guardian’s linked report, Iraq’s impossible predicament: why the country is trapped between Iran and the US, With the outbreak of this year’s war, Iraq’s balancing act between the two antagonists has collapsed, exposing a perilously fragile state • The summer issue of the Long Read magazine is out now. Click here to order One week after the United States and Israel killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and ignited a regional war, drones started flying over Basra in southern Iraq. They were targeting Iraq’s oil industry. They hit an oilfield operated by BP, as well as a cargo terminal at Basra airport and a large compound that houses foreign companies that service the oil sector. Another attack on 6 March hit the same compound, striking offices and warehouses used by Halliburton and KBR, two US companies that have been in Iraq since the 2003 invasion. The attack sparked a massive fire that lit up the night sky. In the wider war, it was not a particularly notable day – but in Iraq the strikes laid b
Context
The development sits in VINI’s Global coverage for readers following international affairs, institutions, conflict, diplomacy, economics, and cross-border consequences. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The linked report is dated 2026-07-23T04:00:35+00:00.
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Source
Primary source: Iraq’s impossible predicament: why the country is trapped between Iran and the US via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.
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Source links
- Iraq’s impossible predicament: why the country is trapped between Iran and the USThe Guardian - 2026-07-23T04:00:35+00:00
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