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Iraq

August 27, 2026

Baghdad 1:52 am

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Iraq summons Iran envoy over 'Persian Gulf' post, Baghdad name origins: What to know

The move comes amid heightened tensions in the region, including over the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the controversially referenced gulf to the Arabian Sea.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi delivers a speech in Baghdad, May 16, 2026.

Exclusive

Iraq's Zaidi set to make European debut with Macron in France

The Iraqi prime minister is expected to sign several memorandums of understanding with France during his Sept. 14 meeting with Macron as Baghdad seeks to diversify its diplomatic and security ties.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Leon Neal/Getty Images

Oil falls 1.8% as traders await 'toughest' sanctions on Iran

Traders are awaiting details about new US measures sure to further disrupt Iranian oil flows.

Latest News

Iraq’s Zaidi doubles down on militia disarmament, boosting oil exports

Zaidi

Interview

Barzani calls for enhanced air defense for Kurdistan Region to counter drone attacks

Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government, gives a press conference in the autonomous region's capital Arbil on June 25, 2025.

Masrour Barzani

Masrour Barzani

KRG Prime Minister

Exclusive

Saudi Arabia wants Iran-backed militia 'heads to roll' in Iraq amid talks with Tehran

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses his supporters after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won in country's general election, in New Delhi on June 4, 2024. Modi claimed election victory for his party and its allies on June 4, but the opposition said they had "punished" the ruling party to confound predictions and reduce their parliamentary majority. (Photo by Money SHARMA / AFP) (Photo by MONEY SHARMA/AFP via Getty Images)

From Israel to Iran, Modi 3.0 eyes deepening of India's Middle East ties

India refuses to be restricted by its former Cold War commitments; as with any other power or wannabe power, only self-interest matters, and the oil monarchies of the Gulf top India's list of friends in the region.

A Boeing 737 aircraft of Emirati airline FlyDubai is seen on the tarmac of Sulaimaniyah Airport in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region on August 2, 2020, as the airport resumes flight operations following the COVID-19 lockdown.

Turkey extends flight ban on Iraq's Sulaimaniyah airport for 6 months

The extension of the ban indicated that Ankara and the Iraqi Kurdish party controlling Sulaimaniyah had yet to resolve their differences.

Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (R) and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shake hands after a joint statement to the media in Baghdad on April 22, 2024.

Iraq's PM says Baghdad mediating potential Syria-Turkey reconciliation

The Iraqi prime minister says he is in contact with the Turkish and Syrian presidents as part of reconciliation efforts

A man looks at artifacts, under restoration after being destroyed by the Islamic State (IS) group, at the Mosul Museum in Iraq's northern city on May 11, 2023.

Iraq recovers over 6,000 stolen historical artifacts, government says

An Iraqi official says the Iraqi government’s efforts to get back historical artifacts smuggled out of the country were focused on Mosul, which was overrun by ISIS in 2014.

Iraqi autonomous Kurdish region's peshmerga forces and fighters from the Yazidi minority, a local Kurdish-speaking community targeted in a brutal campaign by the Islamic State (IS) group, enter the western Iraqi city of Sinjar, in the Nineveh Province, on Nov. 13, 2015.

Turkey’s Fidan says Iraqi Sinjar must be ‘clear’ of PKK presence

The top Turkish diplomat’s comment comes as Ankara is ramping up its threats for a large-scale operation in northern Iraq.

ISIS resurgence in Iraq sees fresh attacks, clashes after commander killed

The Islamic State is suspected of killing soldiers in eastern Iraq in the latest sign of the group’s persistence.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (L) welcomes Nechirvan Barzani, the regional president of Iraqi Kurdistan, during an official visit to Tehran on May 6, 2024. (Photo: KRG Presidency)

Analysis

In Iran, Iraqi Kurdistan President Barzani welcomed by Khamenei, IRGC

Nechirvan Barzani’s trip to Tehran follows tensions between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Islamic Republic over Kurdish armed groups and attacks by Iran-backed militias.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

This picture taken on April 25, 2023, shows a shrapnel-pocked walled in the village of Hiror near the Turkish border in northern Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, where firefights occur between the Turkish army and fighters from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Turkey launches fresh airstrikes in Iraq as Erdogan renews threats for offensive

The strikes come as Ankara renews its threats of a fresh offensive in northern Iraq against the outlawed Kurdish militants and criticizes Iran and an Iraqi Kurdish political party for their lack of action to Turkey’s security concerns.

UAE's Energy Minister Suhail Mohamed al-Mazrouei (L) and Turkey's Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu (R) speak together during the signing of the "Development Road" framework agreement on security, economy, and development in Baghdad on April 22, 2024.

Can $20B Iraq Development Road project rival India-Middle East corridor?

A new trade route is in the works to connect the Gulf with Europe along the Development Road, starting in Iraq.

Heavy armor is displayed during a ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the Battle of Ramadi at Camp Pendleton, California, April 5, 2024. Veterans and gold star families of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines gathered for the ceremony marking the anniversary of the battle of Ramadi, during which 34 Marines and sailors were killed in action in Iraq in the spring of 2004. (Photo by David SWANSON / AFP) (Photo by DAVID SWANSON/AFP via Getty Images)

New attacks near US bases in Iraq, Syria threaten uneasy detente

The Pentagon seemed to downplay the first new attacks on US troops in Syria and Iraq since February, as Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah militia distanced itself from responsibility.

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images

Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah denies resuming attacks on US bases

Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah denied on Monday it had resumed attacks on US bases after two apparent barrages threatened to break a fragile detente that had held since February.

(L to R) Turkey's Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu, UAE's Energy Minister Suhail Mohamed al-Mazrouei, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Qatar's Minister of Transport Jassim bin Saif bin Ahmed al-Sulaiti, and Iraq's Transport Minister Razzaq Muhaibas al-Saadawi applaud during their meeting for the signing of the "Development Road" framework agreement on security, economy, and development in Baghdad on April 22, 2024. (Photo by Thaier Al-Sudani / POO

Turkey, Iraq, UAE, Qatar ink $20B transportation deal during Erdogan visit

The Turkish president’s visit heralds a new chapter between the two neighbors after more than a decade of turbulent ties.