Iraq's balancing act is only getting harder as the war between the US and Iran widens

BEIRUT -- BEIRUT (AP) — Strikes launched by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia against Iran-allied fighters in Iraq have put Iraq's government in a delicate position — and not for the first time.Since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, Iraq has walked a tightrope between Washington and Tehran, seeking to avoid becoming a battleground for rival powers. The balancing act has only grown more fraught since the U.S. and Israel went to war with Iran in February.Saudi Arabia had accused Iraqi armed groups of using drones to attack its oil facilities. The retaliatory strikes in Iraq hit bases of the Popular Mobilization Forces, a collection of armed groups close to Iran that are officially part of Iraq's security forces but often operate outside of state control. The groups have also attacked U.S. forces who are in Iraq at the invitation of the government. The Iraqi government has given non-state armed groups until the end of September to disarm, but some of the most powerful — and the closest to Iran — have said they have no intention of doing so.U.S. President Donald Trump has been effusive in his praise of Iraq's new Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, a political outsider and fellow businessman. But the Iraq...