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Iraq

October 25, 2026

Baghdad 10:54 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

Will Abadi resign from his party?

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi wants to form a Cabinet of nonpartisan technocrats, but his critics are pressing him to first leave the Islamic Dawa Party.

Iraqi actors perform on the stage of the damaged Rasheed theatre in Baghdad May 4, 2003, during the first post-war theatre play in the city. Members of the Najeen group performed "They passed from here", a political performance in the country's main theatre which was burned, damaged and looted during the chaotic fall of the regime of [Saddam Hussein.] - RTXLYCE

How these Iraqi artists are breathing new life into ruined theater

Impatient with neglect by successive Iraqi governments for cultural development, a group of producers and performers has taken on the task of renovating a destroyed theater.

Why the Mosul offensive has yet to succeed

Frustrations between the Iraqi army, peshmerga forces and local villagers have presented a major obstacle in the operation that was launched in late March to recapture Mosul from IS.

Iraqi Sunni Muslim fighters from Hashid Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) take part in a parade during a ceremony marking the Iraqi Police Day at Amiriyat al-Fallujah in Anbar province, January 9, 2016. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RTX21NI3

Will Popular Mobilization Units join operations to liberate Mosul?

Although the Sunni forces oppose the participation of the Popular Mobilization Units in the battle for Mosul, the Iraqi government has opted for their participation in the absence of a US veto.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani speaks during an interview with Reuters in Erbil, January 14, 2016. The autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq may sell parts of its electricity sector to raise funds to help plug a budget gap left by sinking oil prices, Talabani told Reuters. Picture taken January 14, 2016. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RTX22MGD

Congress cool on Kurdistan bailout

KRG leaders’ Capitol Hill trek yields lots of praise but no promises.

Decline in education threatens future Iraqi generations

The lack of schools and large number of students in the same classroom have negatively affected the learning process and the future of Iraq’s new generation.

Libyan soldiers manning a military outpost, stop a car at a checkpoint in Wadi Bey, west of the city of Sirte, which is held by Islamic State militants, February 23, 2016. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny - RTX28A55

Keeping the Islamic State in check in Libya

The international community hopes the new Libya government can bring together militias in an coordinated effort against Islamic State fighters.

A member of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces stands guard at a security point on Bashiqa mountain, overlooking Islamic State held territories of Mosul, 12 km northeast of Mosul City, March 7, 2015. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CONFLICT) - RTR4SF1J

Why the PKK is so interested in Mosul

The PKK is looking to join the Iraqi army and the Kurdistan Regional Government to liberate Mosul.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) gives a thumbs-up as Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi (R) welcomes him at the prime minister's palace in Baghdad April 8, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTSE5GF

The collapse of Iraq's Shiite alliance

Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr co-opts popular reform movement; Erdogan’s bid for empowered presidency linked to war with PKK; Turkey feels pressure to intensify fight against Islamic State; Backlash over Egyptian government crackdown on media.

Why Iraq's Kurds are united in Baghdad and divided in Erbil

Despite their internal divisions, Kurdish parties are united in the face of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's plan to reshuffle the Cabinet.

Smoke rises from the modern city as seen from the historic city of Palmyra, in Homs Governorate, Syria in this April 1, 2016 file photo. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki/Files - RTSD8PD

Private collectors fuel demand for looted Mideast antiquities

Archaeological experts say social dislocation and terrorism are increasing the ability of organized gangs to traffic artifacts to clients in Europe, Asia and the United States.

Supporters of prominent Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr shout slogans during a protest near the gates of Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone March March 31, 2016. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad - RTSD1EC

How religious movements gained the upper hand in Iraqi protests

The movement led by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Iraq has managed to stifle the pro-reform secular movement protests.