international
Iraqis vote amid US Iran tension
Iraqis voted in the first election on Saturday since defeating Islamic State, but few people expect its new leaders to stabilise a country beset by conflicts, economic hardship and corruption since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Depending on the outcome, the poll could bolster Iran’s role in Iraq and the Middle East. Iraq faces an array of challenges after a three-year war against Islamic State which cost the country over €100 billion. The victors will have to contend with the fallout from U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the nuclear deal with Iran, a move that raised fears among Iraqis that their country will be a theatre of conflict between Washington and Tehran. The three main groups, the majority Shi’iteArabs and minority Sunni Arabs and Kurds, have been at odds for decades, and sectarian divisions are deep even though they joined forces to fight ISIS.