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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Ghaith Abdul-Ahad

Iraqi leaders face balancing act as Iran conflict exposes deep rifts

People fly flags from their vehicles on a road in Baghdad
Iraqis wave national flags during a rally in support of Iran in Baghdad's Tahrir Square on Thursday. Photograph: Ahmad al-Rubaye/AFP/Getty Images

Of all the countries being pulled into the US-Israeli war on Iran, it is Iraq – a country that still bears the emotional and physical scars of the last time the Americans tried to reshape the region by force – where the conflict has exposed some of the deepest rifts.

The war is dividing those who see the attacks on Iran as a way to end Tehran’s longstanding influence over Iraqi politics from the self-declared loyalists of the Islamic republic, and cutting through state institutions, armed forces and Shia Islamist parties.

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