IRAQ PERSPECTIVE

Baghdad receives word of the talks failure with the resignation of a country geographically trapped between belligerents. Iraqi News reports Vance's statement—"we depart after presenting our final and best offer"—without editorial comment, but the choice of this quote itself sends a message. Iraq, whose 95 percent of government revenue comes from oil exported through Basra terminals in the Persian Gulf, faces first-order blockade consequences. Every Iraqi tanker must cross the strait to reach Asian markets. The brevity of Iraqi coverage says everything: when you're in the eye of the storm, you don't comment on the wind, you count the seconds. The absence of Iraqi government statements in domestic media reflects obvious political calculation—Baghdad cannot afford to criticize either Washington (its security depends on it) or Tehran (its allied militias depend on it).