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Iraq

October 25, 2026

Baghdad 11:44 am

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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

A man walks at a destroyed building at the site of a blast caused by a fire at a weapons storage in eastern Baghdad, Iraq, September 2, 2016. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad - RTX2NV19

Abadi orders weapons caches out of Baghdad in wake of deadly blast

In the wake of a horrific explosion at a weapons cache site that killed four people, Iraq's prime minister has ordered that arms depots be removed from residential areas in Baghdad and other cities.

Decline of higher education in Iraq continues

Despite several recent achievements, Iraq's universities still suffer from poor management, corruption and sectarianism.

Iraqi security forces and Shi'ite paramilitary fighters hold an Islamist State flag, which they pulled down in Tikrit, March 31, 2015. Iraqi troops aided by Shi'ite paramilitaries and Sunni tribal fighters have reached the center of Tikrit after securing the Sunni city's southern and western sections from Islamic State militants, Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi said on Tuesday. "Our security forces have reached the center of Tikrit and they have liberated the southern and western sides and they are moving to

Attacks spark fears that Iraq's 'liberated areas' aren't free of IS

Islamic State fighters are still launching attacks against Iraq’s security forces in the liberated areas, indicating that there are still some IS enclaves and cells present on the edges of the cities.

Military vehicles of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces are seen on the southeast of Mosul , Iraq, August 14, 2016. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RTX2KRSN

Iraqis already arguing over land they haven't yet freed from IS

As efforts advance to liberate Mosul, the capital of Ninevah province, disputes are brewing over proposals to divide up the governorate.

Shiite Muslim pilgrims gather in front of the shrine of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, on Arafah day, referring to a prayer performed by Shiites in Saudi Arabia's Arafat plain on the second day of hajj, on September 11, 2016 in the holy city of Karbala, 80 kilometres south of the capital Baghdad.
Barred from Mecca amid an escalating spat between Tehran and Saudi Arabia, masses of Iranian Shiite faithful have converged on the holy Iraqi city of Karbala for an alternative pilgrimage. The r

Will Iranian pilgrims forsake Mecca for Karbala?

Iran and Saudi Arabia are expanding the conflict over Islamic religious sites as they continue to exploit religion for their political interests.

Alain Le Roy, under-secretary-general for Peacekeeping Operations at the United Nations, looks on in a helicopter during his visit at the Golf Hotel, headquarters of Alassane Ouattara, in Abidjan December 27, 2010, where a detachment of UNOCI peacekeepers provides security. An election meant to resolve Ivory Coast's decade-long political crisis has resulted in two rivals claiming the presidency, with incumbent Laurent Gbagbo defying world pressure to hand over to Ouattara. The standoff has killed more than

Veteran French diplomat: EU should play greater role in resolving Syria crisis

French diplomat Alain Le Roy discusses the European Union's "unstable" and "insecure" borders and its greater challenge of resolving the crisis in Syria.

Recovered artifacts are seen at the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad July 15, 2015. The U.S. handed back to Iraq on Wednesday antiquities it said it had seized in a raid on Islamic State fighters in Syria, saying the haul was proof the militants were funding their war by smuggling ancient treasures. The Iraqi relics were captured by U.S. special forces in an operation in May against an Islamic State commander known as Abu Sayyaf. They included ancient cylindrical stamps, pottery, metallic bracelets and ot

Iraq struggles to stop antiquities smuggling

Iraq has managed to recover some smuggled antiquities, but illegal excavations and the theft of ancient artifacts continue.

Yazidi refugee women stand behind a banner as they wait for the arrival of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Special Envoy Angelina Jolie at a Syrian and Iraqi refugee camp in the southern Turkish town of Midyat in Mardin province, Turkey, June 20, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX1HE42

Why Iraq's Yazidis are upset over new film depicting IS massacres

Women who suffered at the hand of the Islamic State are now being subjected to further humiliation, in the opinion of the Yazidi community, which is protesting a film on the topic that they say is inaccurate and misleading.

Why did Iraq's Shiite National Alliance choose new leader?

After longtime disagreements, the Shiite National Alliance elects Ammar al-Hakim, the head of the Islamic Supreme Council, as president of the alliance, to revive and reorganize it.

Iraqi guards stand in front of the Ministry of Defence during a visit from U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, in Baghdad December 9, 2014. U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel arrived in Baghdad on Tuesday as the United States expands its presence and touts progress against Islamic State militants four months after starting a campaign of air strikes in Iraq. REUTERS/Mark Wilson/Pool (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR4HCSE

Who will replace sacked Iraqi defense minister?

Following the dismissal of Iraq's Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi by the parliament, the Sunni blocs are competing over nominating his successor.

A Turkish army tank drives towards to the border in Karkamis on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern Gaziantep province, Turkey, August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX2MYVZ

Turkey demands role in Mosul battle, but coalition unconvinced

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed Turkey’s keenness to be part of the liberation of the two IS strongholds of Raqqa and Mosul, but continuing differences with Washington and Baghdad make this difficult.

The U.S. families of Iranian dissidents, members of Iran's opposition movement Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) who reside in Camp Liberty in Iraq, look on as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry testifies on agreements over Iran's nuclear programs, before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, December 10, 2013. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTX16CNF

What's next for Baghdad-Tehran ties as last MEK members leave Iraq?

In a new regional victory for Iran, the last group of the exiled opposition group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq left neighboring Iraq.