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Iraq

October 23, 2026

Baghdad 3:57 pm

32°C

Safin HAMID / AFP via Getty Images

Iran says deal reached with Iraq to expel Kurdish separatists: What to know

Iran said an agreement was reached with Iraq to expel or hand over members of Kurdish separatist groups based in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Trucks loaded with goods wait to cross over to Syria

Analysis

How Hormuz crisis is reshaping economic ties between Iraq and Syria

Iraq and Syria are expanding trade and energy cooperation, but security risks, economic challenges and longstanding mistrust raise questions about whether their growing partnership can endure.

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Oct. 14, 2026, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Iraq’s Zaidi, Saudi crown prince discuss security as Houthi attacks escalate

Iraq has moved to improve ties with Saudi Arabia after Iran-backed militias struck the kingdom and amid the conflict with the Houthis in Yemen.

Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters arrive in the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk on May 14, 2013, after leaving Turkey as part of a peace drive with Ankara.

Explainer

PKK pulls out of Metina in northern Iraq amid Turkey peace process

The withdrawal comes as the peace process between Turkey and the militant group gains momentum alongside increasing security cooperation between Ankara and Baghdad.

Latest News

Analysis

Why Syria and Iraq are taking different approaches to armed groups

Demonstrators ride through a street while waving Syrian flags

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

Iraq devalues dinar 13% as Hormuz disruption hits oil revenue

A man walks past a closed foreign exchange office in Baghdad on October 7, 2026. Iraq's central bank devalued the dinar currency against the dollar on October 7, with the country facing a deepening crisis brought on by the Middle East war. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images)

Explainer

What Iraq’s US troop withdrawal means for security after Kirkuk killings

A member of the Iraqi security forces flashes the victory sign during a military parade

Analysis

After US exit, Iran gains space in Iraq and a harder balancing act

Members of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) paramilitary forces stand guard during an election rally for the "Asaib Ahl al-Haq" movement in the capital Baghdad, on October 7, 2021.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Suadad al-Salhy

In Baghdad, reporting on politics and security

Lyse Mauvais

In Amman, reporting on humanitarian crises

Winthrop Rodgers

In Sulaymaniyah, reporting on Kurdish issues

US Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, questions US Secretary of the Army Mark Esper, nominee to be Secretary of Defense, during a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, July 16, 2019. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

Intel: Why 5 Democratic presidential hopefuls just rebelled against Trump’s new defense secretary

An overwhelming bipartisan majority of the Senate voted 90-8 Tuesday to confirm former Army Secretary Mark Esper as President Donald Trump’s new defense secretary.

U.S military vehicles travel in the northeastern city of Qamishli, Syria April 29, 2017. Picture taken April 29, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC1FC8E9DC90

Special operations forces reflect on lessons of terror fight

The Pentagon’s command for elite special operations forces is assessing how repeated deployments to the Middle East during the war on terror have impacted the forces' core values.

Kurdish security members gather near a restaurant where Turkish diplomats and Turkish consulate employee were killed in Erbil, Iraq July 17, 2019. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RC1302A043E0

Kurdish officials in Iraq await fallout from Turkish diplomat's death

Iraqi Kurdistan authorities are concerned about the potential political, economic and security impacts of the recent killing of a Turkish diplomat in Erbil.

Former government spokesman tapped as KRG foreign relations head

A diplomat loyal to the Barzani family has been chosen as head of the KRG's Department of Foreign Relations.

Ammar al-Hakim (C), leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), attends a parliament session at the parliament headquarters in Baghdad September 8, 2014. Iraq's parliament approved a new government headed by Haider al-Abadi as prime minister on Monday night, in a bid to rescue Iraq from collapse, with sectarianism and Arab-Kurdish tensions on the rise. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS RELIGION) - GM1EA990L3001

Why this political movement is turning its back on the Iraqi PM

Ammar al-Hakim's National Wisdom Movement, which once supported Adel Abdul Mahdi for the premiership, has turned against the prime minister, organizing protests against his government.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades attend a signing ceremony following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia October 24, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Chirikov/Pool - UP1EDAO1A9A8U

How Russian business could shape Mideast's future security architecture

Russia has been engaged in the Levantine oil and gas sectors for some time, but now Moscow could use that foothold to help build lasting security in the region.

US hits back at Iran in Iraq as tensions rise

The United States is targeting pro-Iranian politicians and militants in Iraq.

US Army special forces sit on top of their Humvees as they secure
important ground in the south of the city of Najaf in central Iraq,
March 23, 2003. US infantry and engineers secured the ground after
heavy gun fires with Iraqi soldiers during the night. REUTERS/Kai
Pfaffenbach REUTERS

KP/FMS - RP3DRINFAQAA

Special Forces face down impacts of war on terror

The Pentagon’s Special Operations Command is planning to study the impacts of the 17-year war on terror in the Middle East on the force.

USS Boxer (LHD-4) ship sails in the Arabian Sea off Oman July 17, 2019. Picture taken July 17, 2019. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah - RC1501922130

Intel: US drone shootdown sparks more Gulf tension

US President Donald Trump said today that the United States destroyed an Iranian drone that came within 1,000 yards of an American vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. Defense officials told CNN the drone was brought down today by electronic jamming.

PM Shtayyeh discovers genuine love for Palestine in Iraq

The state visit by a Palestinian delegation headed by Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh to Iraq appears to have produced a number of economic and political breakthroughs that will contribute to Palestinian economic independence.

Kurdish security members stand guard near a restaurant where Turkish diplomats and Turkish consulate employee were killed in Erbil, Iraq July 17, 2019. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RC15FE0B8D60

Gunmen kill Turkish diplomat in Erbil

A restaurant shooting that left a Turkish diplomat and an Iraqi civilian dead has regional leaders rushing to Erbil to manage the fallout.

A general a view of the Rumaila oil field in Basra, Iraq, November 28, 2017. Picture taken November 28, 2017. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani - RC13A041D7F0

Iraq plans to launch pipelines to export oil through Jordan, Syria

Iraq plans to diversify its oil exports via new pipelines through Jordan and Syria.