![Iraq's most revered Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani met with Pope Francis and his delegation at his home in the holy city of Najaf, on March 6, 2021. [Ayatollah al-Sistani's Media Office via AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/000_94F4YF.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Interfaith dialogue is important, but the fate of Iraqi minorities is hinged on the success of state-building in Iraq.
![Demonstrators burn American and British flags during a protest against the assassination of the Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani in Tehran on January 3, 2020 [WANA via Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/5291d0e68efc4d739922a2ffa01e6c31_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Soleimani’s assassination comes as the Islamic Republic and its allies have been struggling to retain influence in Iraq.
![The head of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed in a US raid near on a compound in northwest Syria on October 26, 2019 [AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/7610db746f9e4fee8d937a59f20e3d7f_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
By declaring a caliphate, al-Baghdadi has given his followers something tangible to fight for even after his death.
![Horsemen entertain the crowd prior to the rugby match between the Crusaders and the Hurricanes at Jade Stadium on May 27, 2006 in Christchurch, New Zealand [File: Photo by Ross Land/Getty Images]](/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/89d5dee9293142bfb432083210d7c48e_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Brenton Tarrant suffers from common historical delusions.
![Adel Abdul-Mahdi was given a mandate to form the government on October 2, 2018 [Anadolu]](/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/63f76ec7f6ca4628be063a427922bbce_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Adel Abdul Mahdi will have a better chance of forging the political consensus that has eluded his predecessors.
![Supporters of Alliance of Revolutionaries for Reform celebrate after results of Iraq's parliamentary election were announced in Baghdad, Iraq May 14, 2018 [Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/db3a4c1bdf8546f8acdc6f669429b645_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Iraq’s election was supposed to seal the political status quo, but Iraqis voted against it.
![This image released b the Syrian Civil Defence White Helmets, shows a child receiving oxygen through respirators following an alleged poison gas attack in Douma, near Damascus, Syria [AP]](/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/7265c7d8bfba46498b934ea1247afaad_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
The 2017 and 2018 strikes on Syria after alleged chemical weapons attacks were symbolic, changing little on the ground.
![An Iranian man reads a copy of the daily newspaper 'Omid Javan' with a headline that reads in Persian 'Crazy Trump and logical JCPOA' [AFP/Getty Images]](/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/7eda0d4bb6e24697952256c6aa3e7690_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
The US has snubbed Iran before, with dire consequences for the stability of the Middle East.
![A member of Iraqi forces mans the turret of an armoured fighting vehicle past the ruined Grand al-Nuri Mosque in the Old City in Mosul [Erik De Castro/[Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/5047bfc0c574443da8712b9d6570b39a_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Can ISIL make a comeback in Mosul?
![The US fired dozens of cruise missiles at an airbase in Syria, in retaliation for a suspected chemical weapons attack on a rebel-held town [Ford Williams/US Navy/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/e0c975ea70574eb4b2c377e07c4677c5_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
It’s not the first time a US president launches missile strikes that do not amount to much but boost ratings.