Oliver Farry is pleased to welcome Hayder Al-Shakeri, Research Fellow with the MENA programme at Chatham House. Al-Shakeri describes Iraq as a state navigating a precarious balance between two powerful allies whose conflict is increasingly unfolding on its own territory. This position is not merely diplomatic but deeply structural, rooted in economic dependence, security arrangements, and geographic realities that bind Iraq simultaneously to both Washington and Tehran. The lack of strong institutions, and a fully-functioning central government, constrains the state’s ability to respond.