Iraq is weeks away from parliamentary elections that will set the country's course during one of the Middle East's most delicate moments in years. While the ceasefire in Gaza may have tamped down regional tensions, fears remain of another round of conflict between Israel and Iraq's neighbor, Iran. Iraq managed to stay on the sidelines during the brief Israel-Iran war in June.
In Syria, the regime of President Bashar al-Assad collapsed. In Lebanon, Hezbollah was forced to lay down its arms under a United States-brokered ceasefire and now faces pressure to disarm. In Yemen, the Houthis were forced to stop disrupting maritime traffic through the Red Sea after massive bombardment of infrastructure and civilian areas by US forces. On Thursday, an Israeli attack killed their prime minister, Ahmed al-Rahawi, along with several other ministers. Iran's once-formidable deterrence has spectacularly shrunk.
The law aims to regulate Iraq's paramilitaries, the so-called Popular Mobilization forces, or PMF. Should it pass, its critics predict dire consequences. It would make "armed terrorist groups undermining Iraq's sovereignty," part of the official Iraqi military, the US State Department has warned. Supporters of the bill have a very different opinion, arguing that it could be a way of assimilating armed groups back into state institutions.