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Opinion
Geneive Abdo

As U.S.-Iran Tensions Grow, Iraqis Suffer

Those who want an independent Iraq are losing to Tehran’s loyalists.

Iraq’s election, Iran’s victory?

Iraq’s election, Iran’s victory?

Photographer: Safin Hamed/AFP/Getty Images

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Iraq is again in turmoil: It remains without a government two months after national elections, and there have been widespread protests over electricity shortages and lack of public services.

The maverick cleric Moqtada al-Sadr recently announced that he hopes the demonstrations continue until the people’s demands are met. Sadr, whose political coalition finished first in the May 12 elections, also said a new government should not be formed until the popular unrest ends.