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Iraq

October 24, 2026

Baghdad 10:16 pm

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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

Picture released on October 1980 of Iraqi soldiers standing in front of tanks and looking at Khorramshahr, near Chatt-el-Arab, in Iran, as fights between Iran and Iraq started again despite the cease-fire. (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images)

Expulsion of Iraqi forces has lessons for Iranians today

On the anniversary of the liberation of a southwestern city from invading Iraqi forces, Iranian officials see lessons for today.

A group of Arab soldiers who have joined Kurdish peshmerga forces take part their graduation ceremony at a training camp in Duhok province, Iraq, February 7, 2017. REUTERS/Ari Jalal - RTX2ZZVX

Disputes over Iraq's Yazidi areas lead to fears of PMU-peshmerga clash

The Popular Mobilization Units is involved in military operations in Yazidi areas of northern Iraq, angering peshmerga, who argue that the PMU is not allowed to do so by an agreement between Erbil and Baghdad.

A helicopter is seen next to the Jordanian flag during the Eager Lion military exercise at the Jordan-Saudi Arabia border, south of Amman May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed - RTX36760

Damascus, Amman exchange threats as border tensions flare

Recent military exercises hosted by Jordan increased the Syrian regime's suspicion about activity on its southern border, while the opposition accuses the regime and Iran of trying to create a land route from Iran to Lebanon, through Syria and Iraq.

Iraqi comedian gets political

By mocking outdated customs or mimicking politicians in Iraq, Ahmad Wahid is entering uncharted territories with his stand-up comedy.

A displaced elderly Iraqi man who just fled his home arrives on military humvee at Sepcial forces base , as Iraqi forces battle with Islamic State militants, in western Mosul, Iraq February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra - RTS10M3H

Trump budget slashes Middle East aid

The State Department is seeking deep cuts to military and economic assistance for Arab states.

Can US-Sunni alliance lure Baghdad away from Tehran?

With US support, Sunni Arab countries in the Gulf hope to bring Iraq into their fold and away from Iran's powerful grasp.

Iraqi Shi'ite leader Muqtada al-Sadr delivers a speech in Najaf, Iraq March 19, 2017. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani - RTX31P3G

Can Iraqi politicians appease Sadr as he flexes his influence?

Iraqi leaders seek to convince parliamentarian Muqtada al-Sadr to keep the calm and support the political process.

U.S. fighters stand near military vehicles, north of Raqqa city, Syria November 6, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTX2S5R9

What’s behind Damascus’ claim of 'invasion from Jordan'?

The Russian media has been closely following Damascus’ claims on military movement on the Jordanian-Syrian border, looking at the goals behind certain claims and how they may impact a political settlement.

Fighters from the "Kataeb Babylon", a group of Christian fighters who fight alongside the Hashd Shabi, Shi'ite fighters, gather at the Mar Behnam monastery after the town was recaptured from the Islamic State, in Ali Rash, southeast of Mosul, Iraq November 21, 2016. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RTSSP9F

Iraq's Christians demand reconstruction of religious sites

Iraqi Christians demand the reconstruction of the Mar Mattai and Mar Behnam monasteries in the Ninevah Plains.

Machine guns are on display at an arms market in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq on August 17, 2014. Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga forces backed by US air strikes retook the country's largest dam from jihadist militants who seized it the previous week, officials said. AFP PHOTO/SAFIN HAMED (Photo credit should read SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images)

Iraqi Kurdistan rife with unlicensed guns, gun violence

Though the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq is slowly waning, gun violence still riddles Iraq's Kurdistan Region where firearms are readily available and licensing is easily bypassed.

Morocco cracks down on fighters returning from IS

The Moroccan authorities are deploying all efforts to curb the phenomenon of former Islamic State fighters returning to their home country by arresting them.

Following controversial video leak, Iraq minorities seek to address hate speech

Following a religious lecture by the head of the Shiite Endowment on the provisions of jihad against non-Muslims, Iraqi minorities called for the government to take decisive action against hate speech in the country.