The future stability of OPEC’s second-largest oil and gas producer could be decided by the end of 2017. Unrest is growing in Iraq as the Kurdish referendum grows nearer. Soon, the Iraq that we have known since the end of WWII could be drawing new borders. At the same time, the conflict between the Shi’a (supported by Iran) and the Sunni (Saudi-UAE) could be heating up again. Regional actors and political friction have added fuel to the fire, in the first signs that the strong Shi’a majority is experiencing internal instability. One of the main leaders of the region’s Shi’a has broken ranks in Iran’s Shi’a led government factions just as Sunni power players in the Arab Gulf are expecting a collapse of the Shi’a power triangle of Iran-Iraq-Syria. The unexpected visit of Shi’ite cleric and power broker Muqtada Al Sadr to Saudi Arabia and the UAE has stirred […]