The third issue of the Middle East Mediterranean Report is now available. Given the transitional period the Middle East undergoes politically and economically, the significance of Iraq in this process is crucial due to its strategic and cultural background. The current issue sheds some light on specific aspects of modern Iraq, such as  the importance of Iran’s foreign policy in Baghdad and the relations between the Shiite-led government in Iraq and the Sunni world. Developments in Iraq are expected to influence the rest of Middle East in the foreseeable future.