U.S. obstructs Iraq's efforts to join China's 'belt-and-road' initiative (Part I)

On March 30, 2024, while visiting Baghdad, Dimitri Lascaris spoke with Hussein Barood, the elected spokesman of the Iraqi Movement for the Belt-and-Road Initiative. For years, the movement which Barood represents has advocated for Iraq to become a fully-fledged participant in China's Belt-and-Road Initiative. Although there has been progress in deepening Chinese investment in Iraq, the U.S. government has sought to obstruct Iraqi development by controlling the oil and gas revenues upon which Iraq critically depends.