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Iraq

October 24, 2026

Baghdad 7:43 pm

25°C

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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

Court backs Baghdad by stalling Kurdish referendum

The Baghdad government has several legal, economic and military options to prevent the Kurdistan region from conducting an independence referendum that is opposed by most regional and global powers.

A man reads a copy of the magazine "Israel-Kurd" at a street in Arbil, 310 km (190 miles) north of Baghdad August 16, 2009. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari (IRAQ SOCIETY) - GM1E58H06K201

How Israel's support is swaying Kurdish sentiment ahead of referendum

Turkey’s Kurds may have divergent views on Israeli backing for the referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan, but their support for the independence bid remains robust.

International artists explore fragmented Middle East in Istanbul

The 2017 Istanbul Biennial asks what makes a good neighbor in a world plagued by war, repression and division.

Turkish military sends anti-referendum message with exercises across border

Ankara is trying to tell its neighbors something with its massive military exercise across the border from Iraqi Kurdistan as the Kurdish Regional Government's independence referendum nears.

(LtoR) Turkey's Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini give a joint press conference following the EU-Turkey High Level Political Dialogue meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels on July 25, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / JOHN THYS (Photo credit should read JOHN THYS/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkish FM says KRG referendum 'big mistake'

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks about the upcoming independence vote in Iraqi Kurdistan, Turkish-EU relations and expanding cooperation with Russia.

Iraqi Kurdistan's young sportsmen put on gloves

Fighters from all over Iraq and Lebanon compete in the first mixed martial arts tournament in Erbil.

TOPSHOT - A Syriac Christian militiaman stands guard on top of a building during an easter ceremony at the Saint John's church (Mar Yohanna) in the nearly deserted predominantly Christian Iraqi town of Qaraqosh (also known as Hamdaniya), some 30 kilometres from Mosul, on April 16, 2017.
Qaraqosh was retaken by Iraqi forces late in 2016 as part of a massive offensive to wrest back the nearby city of Mosul from Islamic State (IS) group fighters but it remains almost completely deserted.
/ AFP PHOTO / CHRIST

Congress fuels Christian rivalries with bid to arm Iraqi militias

A House effort to arm Iraqi Christian militias risks making an already tense standoff in the Ninevah Plains even worse.

Iraqi farmers fight against imported goods, corruption

The Iraqi market is flooded with foreign agricultural and food products, which affects local farmers and food producers.

Sectarian forces fight for influence in Iraq's Diyala province

After being liberated from the Islamic State, the Diyala province is suffering from increased ethnic, sectarian and political conflicts that could turn into armed clashes at any moment.

A member of an Iraqi unit searches for bombs and mines near the site of an explosion in the city of Mosul, Iraq March 19, 2017. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal - RC11A0823EB0

US faces WWII-scale explosives cleanup in Iraq after Islamic State fight

Cleaning up the booby traps that IS fighters have left all over the country will take many years and millions of dollars.

Prospect of Kurdish independence raises talk of war

Friction is growing between Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government as the latter's independence vote approaches.

A man looks at a printed banner of Kurdistan region referendum in Erbil, Iraq August 26, 2017. Picture taken August 26, 2017. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RC1D90FE8B20

200,000 Jewish Kurds headed for Iraqi Kurdistan, howls Turkish press

The Turkish media is abuzz with the story of a secret agreement between the Kurdistan Regional Government and Israel to resettle Jewish Israelis of Kurdish origin in Iraqi Kurdistan after the independence referendum, and some quarters are taking the news as an indication of US support for Kurdish independence.