Iraq continues to grapple with deepening challenges in its military and oil sectors, exacerbating the country’s broader political and economic crises. A senior Iraqi security official, with extensive experience working alongside American forces, highlighted the military’s continued vulnerabilities, noting that Iraq’s sovereignty has been compromised repeatedly, including unauthorized use of airspace by various armed groups. The official emphasized the military’s inability to protect its own personnel from militia attacks within Baghdad, pointing to a clear chain of command behind such assaults despite uncertainty about individual operatives.

Security measures, such as checkpoints and surveillance cameras, appear insufficient to prevent armed factions from deploying rockets and drones in central Baghdad and surrounding areas. The official attributed much of this failure to systemic corruption within Iraq’s security forces, where top positions often require substantial bribes, sometimes amounting to millions of dollars. This transactional system shifts priorities away from confronting threats toward safeguarding financial investments made by officers seeking to recoup their payments through illicit activities such as fraud and embezzlement.

The divide between older militias and newer paramilitary groups aligned with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) further complicates Iraq’s security landscape. While influential Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and allied factions have accepted the government’s directive to integrate their forces into state structures, hardline militias reject such moves, framing their armaments as sacred and ideologically bound, refusing to relinquish them until “the end times.”

Meanwhile, Iraq’s vital oil sector—central to funding government salaries for millions of public employees—has been severely disrupted. Attacks attributed to Iran-aligned militias have targeted oil infrastructure, prompting shortages and long queues at fuel stations reminiscent of post-2003 wartime chaos. The Ministry of Oil cited refinery shutdowns following the departure of foreign workers and an inability to export certain fuel types as causes for the shortfalls.

Public opinion on the attacks is divided. Some activists argue the assaults reflect broader grievances over perceived exploitation by oil companies, particularly in places like Basra, where stark contrasts exist between the city’s pollution and poverty and the visible wealth enjoyed by a privileged few. Basra’s residents contend with severely polluted air and contaminated water but see limited benefits from the region’s oil wealth, fueling discontent toward both domestic and foreign actors involved in the oil industry.

Iraq’s oil sector has struggled to fulfill its postwar promise. Before the 2003 U.S. invasion, decades of conflict and sanctions had left the infrastructure in disrepair. Subsequent looting and sabotage further destabilized production. Although Iraq engaged major international oil firms through service contracts rather than traditional profit-sharing deals, output fell far short of the ambitious targets once set, peaking at about 4.5 to 5 million barrels per day—well below Saudi Arabia’s production levels.

Investment in Iraq’s oil projects has dwindled due to ongoing political instability, contractual disputes, and delayed government payments. The complex bureaucracy intended to prevent corruption often serves as a bottleneck where bribes are demanded—a practice multinationals generally avoid due to their own anti-corruption regulations—resulting in stalled disbursements.

Political factions, clans, and sometimes armed groups dominate contracting processes, further eroding transparency and efficiency. In a notable development reflecting the government’s anti-corruption campaign, Deputy Oil Minister Adnan al-Jumaili was arrested in late May on charges including corruption and possession of illicit weapons and large sums of cash and gold. The crackdown expanded to include dozens of officials, lawmakers, and security personnel, with assets seized totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. Among those detained was another deputy oil minister previously sanctioned by the United States for allegedly diverting Iraqi oil to Iran.

For many Iraqis, the oil industry symbolizes the pervasive challenges facing the country—entanglement of politics, corruption, and security struggles that continue to stall Iraq’s efforts toward stability and economic prosperity.