The Bagdad Conference: Preparation for U.S. Withdrawal or the Brokering of a New Regional Balance?

Early August 2021, the Mustafa al-Kadhimi government announced the “Iraqi Neighboring Countries Conference,” designed to focus on regional challenges and ways to overcome them. The conference, held on August 28, 2021, was initially aimed at hosting Iraq’s neighbors, particularly Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Jordan