Iraq - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Iran cover image

Iraq

July 14, 2026

Baghdad 5:38 pm

44°C

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi at a Council of Ministers meeting in Baghdad on July 11, 2026.

Analysis

On first foreign trip, Iraqi PM Zaidi woos Trump but Iran casts long shadow

Iraq's new prime minister is in Washington promising business deals and closer ties with the United States, but convincing the Trump administration he can rein in Iran-backed militias may prove his toughest challenge.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

An aerial view shows port of the western Syrian port city of Latakia, on Dec. 18, 2024.

Analysis

Can a UAE-backed Syria-Iraq corridor become Gulf's next trade route?

On June 26, Emirati and Syrian officials discussed plans for a logistics corridor connecting Syrian ports to Gulf markets via Iraq.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Latest News

Here's what to know about Iraq's corruption as Zaidi launches crackdown

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Iraqi PM’s anti-corruption drive comes as US pressure mounts on Iran-backed militias

aqi security personnel patrol in a vehicle along a street in Baghdad on June 28, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Explainer

After UAE and Qatar, could Iraq be next to leave OPEC?

A worker at a market for fuel oil and automotive fuel on March 17, 2026, in Erbil, Iraq.

Iraq taps Krikor Der-Hagopian as first Armenian Christian ambassador to US

Krikor Der-Hagopian at the 9th Sulaimani Forum, in Sulaimaniyah, Iraq, on April 16, 2025.

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

Fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) celebrate on vehicles taken from Iraqi security forces, at a street in city of Mosul, June 12, 2014. Since Tuesday, black clad ISIL fighters have seized Iraq's second biggest city Mosul and Tikrit, home town of former dictator Saddam Hussein, as well as other towns and cities north of Baghdad. They continued their lightning advance on Thursday, moving into towns just an hour's drive from the capital. Picture taken June 12, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer (I

Mosul's rude awakening on ISIS

Edward Dark writes that Iraqis who may have welcomed the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) as liberators will soon have a rude awakening; a first-hand report of Syria’s barrel bombs; the ISIS threat to Lebanon; video of the IPI Free Media Pioneer Awards.

How a Turkish girl broke the heart of a shah

In her latest book, Turkish novelist Nazli Eray shares the story of her mother, a woman whose beauty once stunned Middle East elites and left the Iranian shah heartbroken.

$Supporters of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad wave the national flags and chant slogans in front of General Federation of Trade Unions building, during presidential election in Damascus June 3, 2014. Syrians began voting on Tuesday in an election expected to deliver an overwhelming victory to President Bashar al-Assad in the midst of a civil war that has fractured the country and killed more than 160,000 people. REUTERS/ Omar Sanadiki (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3RXFT$

Can Syria help defeat ISIS?

The Syrian government, which has recently engaged the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) in battle, might share an interest with the United States in defeating the terror organization.

Mehdi Army fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr march during a military-style training in the holy city of Najaf, June 16, 2014. The United States said it could launch air strikes and act jointly with its arch-enemy Iran to support the Iraqi government, after a rampage by Sunni Islamist insurgents across Iraq that has scrambled alliances in the Middle East. REUTERS/Ahmad Mousa (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR3U41A

Escalating crisis drives surge in Iraq's messianic movements

Political and economic hardships in Iraq have contributed to the rise of radical Messianic movements that claim to represent the return of the Mahdi.

Iraqi soldiers stand beside Al-Yaroubia crossing in the province of Hasakah November 10, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT MILITARY) - RTX158J9

Iraqi Kurds seize control of key Syria border crossing

The Syria-based Democratic Union Party (PYD) fears a return to isolation after a Kurdish rival, the Iraq-based Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), captures the Rabia border crossing.

Iraqi Shiite Turkmen Families fleeing the violence in the Iraqi city of Tal Afar, west of Mosul arrive at Shangal, a town in Nineveh province, June 17, 2014. The mainly Turkmen city of Tal Afar, west of Mosul, fell to Sunni militants late on Sunday, and the Iraqi military said it was sending reinforcement there. The Iraqi army said on state television it had killed a top militant, named Abu Abdul Rahman al-Muhajir, in Mosul in clashes. Picture taken June 17, 2014. REUTERS/ Ari Jala (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNR

Ex-Saddam Baathists unite in Ninevah campaign

A member of the Iraqi Baath Party claims that 14 different factions, including the Baathists, were involved in the takeover of Ninevah province on June 10.

A man walks on debris of collapsed buildings at a damaged site hit by what activists said was a barrel bomb dropped by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo's al-Ansari neighbourhood June 18, 2014. REUTERS/Hosam Katan (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR3UEWE

Aleppo fears new ISIS offensive

Syrian regime forces and rebels holed up in Aleppo worry that ISIS' newfound power and advanced military hardware in Iraq will result in a renewed offensive on Aleppo.

A woman walks past the site of a car bomb attack in Baghdad's Sadr City, June 18, 2014. At least 13 people were killed and 30 others wounded in a car bomb explosion in Baghdad's mainly Shi'ite neighbourhood of Sadr City, according to police and hospital officials. REUTERS/Wissm al-Okili (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR3UDVU

Iraq's warring powers approach sectarian faultlines

The battle between Iraqi forces and the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) could get even more brutal as the conflict occurs in Sunni-Shiite contact points.

Volunteers who have joined the Iraqi Army to fight against the predominantly Sunni militants, who have taken over Mosul and other Northern provinces, chant slogans in Baghdad, June 14, 2014. Iraq's most senior Shi'ite Muslim cleric urged followers to take up arms against a full-blown Sunni militant insurgency to topple Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, escalating a conflict that threatens civil war and a possible break-up of the country. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS M

Iraqi Turkmen take up arms in Kirkuk

Iraqi Turkmen, wary of gains by both Iraqi Kurds and the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), have moved to create their own armed militia.

Turkish trucks and tankers, shuttling between Turkey and Iraq, queue on a road leading to the Habur border gate in southeastern Turkey, before crossing into Iraq with their goods, February 23, 2008. Turkey's exports to Iraq jumped nine percent last year to $2.8 billion and its influence can be felt across northern Iraq in the form of supermarkets, consumer goods, construction firms and traders from all over Turkey. To match feature TURKEY-IRAQ/CONFLICT REUTERS/Fatih Saribas (TURKEY) REUTERS/Fatih Saribas

Iraq crisis hits Turkish economy

Iraq is Turkey's second leading export market, but trade routes to Baghdad and farther south are currently blocked because of ISIS's capture of Iraqi territory.

Volunteers, who have joined the Iraqi Army to fight against predominantly Sunni militants, carry weapons and a portrait of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani during a parade in the streets in Baghdad's Sadr city June 14, 2014. An offensive by insurgents that threatens to dismember Iraq seemed to slow on Saturday after days of lightning advances as government forces regained some territory in counter-attacks, easing pressure on the Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad. REUTERS/Wissm al-Okili (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL

Sistani stresses need for unity over sectarianism in battle for Iraq

Shiite cleric Ali al-Sistani stresses the need for Iraqis to support the army and avoid sectarianism in battling the current Sunni rebellion sweeping the country.

A fighter from Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) stands near burning confiscated cigarettes in the city of Raqqa April 2, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT RELIGION SOCIETY) - RTR3JOPD

Three reasons Lebanon fears ISIS advance

The Lebanese are concerned that their country may be the next target of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham.