The Middle East Situation

The past three weeks of spiraling violence have clearly carried the Iraq-Iran conflict into a dangerous new phase, and an overspill of one sort or another into the wider Gulf region cannot be ruled out in the unpredictable period that lies ahead. Having turned back the Iranian ground offensive, the Iraqis now seem determined to exploit their superior strike power to turn the screws on Iran in every possible way, in the hope of persuading Tehran to negotiate the...