Book review: Water threatens to disrupt Iraqi-Kurdish-Turkish relations
Diminishing sources of clean water and rising demand could increase tension between Baghdad and Erbil, as well as Baghdad and Ankara, a new book says
Water has been a headache for Iraq since the late 1970s, when Turkey began building huge dams on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the southeast of the country for irrigation and hydroelectric power generation. The dams reduced the flow of the two rivers beyond the Turkish border, raising fears in Baghdad as well as Damascus that Ankara might one day turn off the tap. Turkey is certainly able to control how much river water Iraq and Syria receive (the Euphrates flows through Syria before reaching Iraq). With Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan still in the mood for expansionist adventures, Syrian and Iraqi leaders might well be justified in feeling nervous.
Also in this section
4 December 2025
Time is running out for Lukoil and Rosneft to divest international assets that will be mostly rendered useless to them when the US sanctions deadline arrives in mid-December
3 December 2025
Aramco’s pursuit of $30b in US gas partnerships marks a strategic pivot. The US gains capital and certainty; Saudi Arabia gains access, flexibility and a new export future
2 December 2025
The interplay between OPEC+, China and the US will define oil markets throughout 2026
1 December 2025
The North African producer’s first bidding round in almost two decades is an important milestone but the recent extension suggests a degree of trepidation
