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Iraq

August 27, 2026

Baghdad 10:03 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

Turkey oil

Oil flow from Iraqi Kurdistan to Turkey remains stopped, threatening sector

Oil flows to Turkey remain frozen following the agreement between Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government. The impasse could hurt the autonomous region’s oil sector and revenue.

Iraqi children cross a flooded street in the Iraqi capital Baghdad after heavy rains, on Dec. 24, 2022.

Severe floods in Iraq leave several dead, adding to climate strains

Iraq is contending with both heavy rains and increasing desertification.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks.

Turkey accuses Iraqi Kurdish party of being under ‘full control’ of PKK

Turkey's top diplomat tore into an Iraqi Kurdish group following an April 8 drone strike targeting the US-led coalition’s top ally in Syria, saying the PKK had taken “full control” of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

A member of the Iraqi security forces stands by a destroyed vehicle that was carrying rockets amdist sacks of flour, in the district of al-Baghdadi in al-Anbar province on July 8, 2021. - Fourteen rockets were fired on July 7 at an air base hosting American troops in the western province of Anbar, causing minor injuries to two personnel, the coalition said. The rockets "landed on the base & perimeter" of the Ain al-Assad base, the coalition spokesman tweeted, adding that local homes and a mosque were also d

Iraqi militias escalate rhetoric against US, threatening more attacks

After a period of calm following the formation of the new government, angry rhetoric has been rising against the US embassy's social outreach to Iraqi groups and tribes.

Mazloum Kobane, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), gives a press conference near the northeastern Syrian Hassakeh province on Oct. 24, 2019.

Drone strike targets US Syrian-Kurdish ally Mazlum Kobane, Turkey suspected

Mazlum Kobane, the Pentagon’s chief ally in the fight against the Islamic State, was traveling in a convoy with US officials at the time of the strike.

This picture taken on Jan. 26, 2019, shows journalists filming outside the departure lounge and control tower of Sulaimaniyah International Airport.

Turkey shuts airspace to Sulaimaniyah flights, citing Kurdish militants

The move is likely retaliation against ties between Kurdish militants and the Iraqi Kurdish Patriotic Union Party.

Patrick Pouyanne, CEO, TotalEnergies

TotalEnergies confirms $10 billion investment in Iraq oil fields, solar plant

The long-delayed deal is expected to bolster the regional electricity grid in the south of the country.

TotalEnergies CEO

Iraq to take 30% stake in $27 billion TotalEnergies project

Progress had stalled on multi-million-dollar deal amid disagreements with Iraqi lawmakers over terms.

MARWAN IBRAHIM/AFP via Getty Images

Oil deal reached between Iraq and Kurdistan Regional Government

The Kurdistan Regional Government says an agreement will result in the resumption of oil exports to Turkey after a legal dispute stopped outflows.

A view of an oil refinery in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk, on June 20, 2014. Kurdish forces took control of Kirkuk and other disputed territory as Sunni Arab militants pressed an offensive that has seen them seize a large chunk of Iraq and sweep federal security forces aside. AFP PHOTO/KARIM SAHIB (Photo by KARIM SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraqi efforts underway to resolve Kurdish oil exports via Turkey

Ankara, Baghdad and Erbil appear willing to negotiate a new mechanism after an international tribunal dealt a blow to Kurdistan’s drive to sell its oil independently.

Shiite Muslims protest near the local headquarters of the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority on July 20, 2003, in Najaf, Iraq.

Analysis

20 years after US invasion of Iraq, what lessons remain?

With the Pentagon now refocusing elsewhere, and with Iran getting closer to nuclear weapons by the day, the widening post-Iraq American boots-on-the-ground Middle East vacuum is cautiously being challenged by China.

Gilles Kepel

By Gilles Kepel

ALI AL-SAADI/AFP via Getty Images

International oil firms stop operations as Iraqi-Kurdish oil dispute continues

A Kurdish official told Al-Monitor that the Kurdistan Regional Government disagrees with an Iraqi government proposal to resolve the issue, as the stoppage of oil exports to Turkey threatens the autonomous region's economy.