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  • US invasion of Iraq

AFP / Al Majalla

What newly released Jordan-UK exchanges on the eve the Iraq war reveal

They show that King Abdullah tried his best to blunt the blow of a US-led invasion by offering a diplomatic off-ramp to avert catastrophe

Malek Al Athamna 28 December 2025
Donald Trump's penchant for pursuing the news he wants, rather than the information his intelligence services give him, echoes past White House mistakes, not least over Iraq. Sara Padovan

Trump’s selective intelligence on Iran echoes past missteps

Determined to show that Saddam Hussein possessed WMDs to justify the US invasion of Iraq, George W. Bush prioritised intel that supported his preferred outcome

Christopher Phillips 02 July 2025
In this photograph provided by the Syrian news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (L) talks with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell May 3, 2003 in Damascus. Getty

Khaddam Files: Powell hands al-Assad list of demands

The US wanted Syria to abstain from meddling in Iraqi affairs, deny refuge to former Saddam loyalists, expel Palestinian organisations from Syria, and withdraw Syrian military forces from Lebanon

Ibrahim Hamidi 30 March 2024
On the eve of America’s invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Syrian and Iranian leaders met to consider their options. In part 6 of a seven-part series, Al Majalla reveals their shared concerns and hopes. Al Majalla

Khaddam Files: Khamenei-Assad plot to turn post-Saddam Iraq into America's 'new Vietnam'

On the eve of America's invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Syrian and Iranian leaders met to consider their options. In part 6 of a seven-part series, Al Majalla reveals their shared concerns and hopes.

Ibrahim Hamidi 29 March 2024
US Senator Joseph Biden (R), D-Delaware, speaks to the press in Doha 8 December 2002 as Senator Chuck Hagel, R-Nebraska, looks on after the two senators visited the As-Saliyah base. AFP

Khaddam Files: Americans in Damascus

Joe Biden, Chuck Hagel, and Colin Powell debated with Bashar al-Assad on their intent to get rid of Saddam. In part 5 of a seven-part series, Al Majalla reveals what was discussed for the first time.

Ibrahim Hamidi 27 March 2024
Picture released by the Lebanese Prime Minister's office shows US President George W. Bush (R) shaking hands with Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri after their meeting in Washington on 17 April 2002. AFP

Khaddam Files: Bush tells Hariri of intention to remove Saddam

In part 4 of a 7-part series, Al Majalla sheds light on a meeting between Rafic Hariri and George W. Bush. The Lebanese PM left with an understanding as to Saddam's fate and with a message for Iran.

Ibrahim Hamidi 23 March 2024
Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw (L) meets with Iranian foreign ministry official Mohsen Aminzadeh at Tehran's Mehrabad airport 09 October 2002. AFP

Khaddam Files: US-Iran backchannels ahead of Iraq invasion

Before it invaded Iraq in 2003, the US was trying to reassure Iran that it would not be targeted next. In part 3 of a 7-part series, Al Majalla publishes private discussions held in Damascus.

Ibrahim Hamidi 22 March 2024
The Kurdish leader was party to secret talks with the Americans in the run-up to the US invasion of Iraq. In part 2 of a 7-part series, Al Majalla reveals for the first time what he told the Syrians. Al Majalla

Khaddam Files: Barzani briefs al-Assad on CIA visit

The Kurdish leader was party to secret talks with the Americans in the run-up to the US invasion of Iraq. In part 2 of a 7-part series, Al Majalla reveals for the first time what he told the Syrians.

Ibrahim Hamidi 21 March 2024
Damascus and Tehran wanted invading US troops to get stuck in a 'new Vietnam' and set up an operations room headed by their top lieutenants to cause havoc, never-before-published documents show. Al Majalla

Exclusive: How Syria and Iran plotted over a post-Saddam Iraq

Damascus and Tehran wanted invading US troops to get stuck in a 'new Vietnam' and set up an operations room headed by their top lieutenants to cause havoc, never-before-published documents show.

Ibrahim Hamidi 18 March 2024
US officials insist rescinding the law will not affect US counter-terrorism support in Iraq   Getty, Shutterstock

20 years later, US law that authorised Iraq war likely to be rescinded

US officials insist rescinding the law will not affect US counter-terrorism support in Iraq  

Al Majalla - London 20 April 2023
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IRGC soldiers march during the annual military parade marking the anniversary of the outbreak of the devastating 1980-1988 war with Saddam Hussein's Iraq, in the capital Tehran on 22 September, 2018. AFP
Politics

The US-Iran war could empower the IRGC

09 March 2026

When states are attacked, authority gravitates towards institutions capable of mobilising resources, enforcing discipline, and coordinating a military response

Alex Vatanka
A picture of Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, displayed on a screen in Tehran, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, on 9 March 2026. Majid Asgaripour / Reuters
Politics

Iran’s defiant regime picks a new supreme leader

09 March 2026

The appointment suggests the Revolutionary Guards have the upper hand

The Economist
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian is greeted by Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi during the D-8 summit in Cairo, Egypt, on 19 December 2024. AFP
Politics

Egypt fears an unrestrained Israel if Iran collapses

06 March 2026

Cairo and Tehran have been at loggerheads since 1979, but the Iranian threat has always acted as a check on Israeli ambitions. If Iran is completely defeated, Israel will reign supreme.

Amr Emam
A boy plays with his sheep next to an unexploded missile that landed in an open field on the outskirts of Qamishli, eastern Syria, on 5 March 2026. DELIL SOULEIMAN / AFP
Business & Economy

Syria may escape war but not its economic fallout

08 March 2026

Even if it stays on the sidelines of the US-Iran war, the country is fragile. Unlike larger economies that can absorb shocks in global markets, it has little room to cushion the impact.

Haid Haid
The displaced Palestinian Abu Mustafa family sits together as they break the dawn-to-dusk Ramadan fast during Iftar in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on 26 February 2026. Photo by EYAD BABA / AFP
Culture & Social Affairs

Ramadan in Gaza: food scarcity compounds suffering

03 March 2026

The iftar table, if it still exists, no longer represents joy, but anxiety and scarcity

Hala Al-Naji

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OPINIONS

Israel's Lebanon strategy is to foment social tensions

Houssam Itani
Houssam Itani

Operation Epstein Distraction

Fares Garabet
Fares Garabet

The US-Iran war could consolidate China’s energy dominance

Jason Bordoff and Erica Downs
Jason Bordoff and Erica Downs

A protracted Iran war multiplies risks for Trump

Brian Katulis
Brian Katulis
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