IRAQ PERSPECTIVE

Iraqi media coverage reveals a perspective deeply marked by the traumatic experience of successive American interventions in Iraq since 1991. Iraqi News establishes an explicit historical parallel between the Gulf Wars, the 2003 invasion, and the current confrontation with Iran, positioning Iraq as a privileged observer of the evolution of American strategy in the Middle East. This comparative approach implicitly underscores that Iraq understands better than most the mechanisms and consequences of American military interventions in the region.

The emphasis on American diplomatic isolation ('US alone in Iran fight') forms the narrative core of this coverage. Iraqi media particularly highlights the deterioration of relations between Washington and its traditional allies, citing tensions with Britain, Spain, and other European partners. This insistence on American strategic isolation likely reflects an implicit satisfaction at seeing the United States confronted with the same challenges of international isolation that Iraq faced under sanctions. A critical tone dominates, with negative vocabulary ('above the law', 'isolation', 'uncooperative') that conveys disapproval of American unilateralism.

The narrative framing positions Trump as an impulsive actor who undermines international norms, contrasting with previous administrations that, despite their shortcomings, still attempted to build coalitions. This Iraqi perspective highlights regional geopolitical consequences, notably the risk of the Middle East becoming again a theatre of American entanglement, recalling the post-2003 Iraqi experience. References to anti-American protests in Baghdad and American military bases reveal Iraqi sensitivity regarding the continued militarisation of the region.

Silences are revealing: limited attention is given to American security justifications concerning the Iranian nuclear programme, and coverage downplays aspects related to the threat Iran posed to neighbouring countries. This omission reflects structural Iraqi biases, notably the country's delicate position between American and Iranian influences, and its preference for regional stability rather than externally imposed regime change. The Iraqi perspective appears to privilege a broad geopolitical reading in which American military interventions are perceived as chronic sources of regional destabilisation.