Iran War Strikes on Iraqi Oil and U.S. Bases Threaten Baghdad’s Stability

An Associated Press report from Irbil details how Iraq has become the only country hit by both sides in the Iran war, facing near-daily drone and rocket attacks on U.S. bases and diplomatic facilities alongside strikes by Iran and Iran‑aligned Iraqi militias on oil fields and energy infrastructure. Iraqi Kurdish officials say disruptions to Gulf shipping and these attacks have almost halted the country’s oil exports, threatening the federal government’s ability to meet its swollen public‑sector payroll as soon as next month and raising the risk of unrest. The Baghdad government has appealed to the Kurdish Regional Government to restart exports via the pipeline to Turkey, but talks remain stalled over longstanding political disputes, leaving a key alternative route offline. U.S. officials have privately assured Iraqi leaders that Washington does not intend to drag Iraq into the regional war, yet proxy battles between Iran‑backed groups and American forces are intensifying, particularly around Baghdad and Irbil airports and even commercial sites and hotels in the Kurdish capital. The situation underscores how economic shock, political paralysis, and militia pressure in Iraq could deepen the regional crisis and further strain global oil markets already reacting to the Hormuz shutdown.