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Iraq

October 29, 2026

Baghdad 3:52 am

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Zaidi

Iraq's Zaidi meets Sharaa on first Syria visit: What to know

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has sought to assuage concerns about his past militant activity in Iraq, whose oil trade and security cooperation with his two country is rising.

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.

Latest News

Explainer

PKK pulls out of Metina in northern Iraq amid Turkey peace process

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.

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

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 general view of the presidential palace is seen during a farewell ceremony for Outgoing Lebanese President Michel Sleiman in Baabda, near Beirut, May 24, 2014.
REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3QNB0

Lebanon: The summer when everything went wrong

Political, constitutional, livelihood and weather problems are happening simultaneously in Lebanon.

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - FEBRUARY 23 : An Iraqi Shiite man carries a picture of Iraq's powerful Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani as he takes part in a protest against the bombing of a Shiite holy shrine on February 23, 2006 in the Karradah district in Baghdad, Iraq. Protests against the bombing of the Askariya golden dome Shiite holy shrine continue in Baghdad and other Shiite cities around the country for the second day. The Askariya golden-dome shrine, which hosts the tombs of Imam Ali al-Hadi and

Sistani signals opposition to renewing Maliki’s term

Iraqi Shiite cleric Ali al-Sistani has drawn red lines about the candidates for the premiership and demanded that a government quickly be formed, before the scheduled date next month.

Iron rods ready for shipment are piled at Israel Shipyards Port in Haifa February 5, 2014. Three years after Syria plunged into violence, Israel is reaping an unlikely economic benefit. Exports from Turkey have begun to flow through Israel and across the Sheikh Hussein Bridge to Jordan and a few Arab neighbours. The trade is growing enough to encourage long-held Israeli hopes that the Jewish state can become a commercial gateway to the Arab world. Picture taken February 5, 2014. To match Insight ISRAEL-TRAD

Trade, security concerns bring Turkey, Israel closer

Turkish-Israeli relations are still far from normalized, but developments in the region are converging the two countries' security and economic interests.

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) - RTR1XKEF

Turkish truckers try to get on the road again

With the dangers and difficulties now inherent in transiting in Iraq and Syria, the Turkish transportation sector is looking for alternative routes to Middle Eastern markets.

A man purported to be the reclusive leader of the militant Islamic State Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has made what would be his first public appearance at a mosque in the centre of Iraq's second city, Mosul, according to a video recording posted on the Internet on July 5, 2014, in this still image taken from video. There had previously been reports on social media that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi would make his first public appearance since his Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) changed its name to the Islamic S

Did nostalgia for Islamic caliphate become a reality?

The Islamic State has exploited ideological tendencies of Salafist jihadists to establish its "Islamic caliphate."

Shiite volunteers from Hezbollah Iraq, who have joined the Iraqi army to fight against militants of the Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), gather together in Baghdad, July 6, 2014. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's coalition should withdraw its support for his bid for a third term and pick another candidate, Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr urged, amid parliamentary deadlock over the formation of a new government. Maliki has come under mounting pressur

Lebanese Hezbollah unlikely to intervene in Iraq crisis

Although some have expressed concerns that Hezbollah could intervene in Iraq to protect Shiite holy sites from Islamic State militants, a number of Lebanese politicians and sources close to Hezbollah dismiss this possibility.

Residents watch Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on a screen during his televised speech at a festival celebrating Resistance and Liberation Day, in Bint Jbeil May 25, 2014. The event commemorates the 14th anniversary of Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY) - RTR3QT8E

Iraq events cause Hezbollah to go on full alert

The fall of western Iraq to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) has cut the contiguous bridge from Iran to Lebanon, and Hezbollah fears that ISIS may try to sneak through to Lebanon.

Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq (L) attends a session at the parliament headquarters in Baghdad July 1, 2014. Newly elected Iraqi lawmakers convene on Tuesday, under pressure to name a unity government to keep the country from splitting apart after an onslaught by Sunni Islamists who have declared a "caliphate" to rule over all the world's Muslims. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3WMDF

Iraqi deputy prime minister: 'I was mistaken' in joining government

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq speaks about the roots of the crisis in Iraq and stresses the need for a political solution.

Members of the Awakening Council, a local neighbourhood guard unit, check the identification of a motorist at a security checkpoint in Diyala province February 10, 2013. Picture taken February 10, 2013. REUTERS/Mohammed Adnan (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3DMLI

The false 'Awakening' model to deal with ISIS in Iraq

Given past experiences, the Iraqi government will likely face difficulties persuading armed Sunni groups to separate from the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).

The words: ' Baath, Arabism, Unity, Freedom, Socialism' are seen on top of a damaged building that belongs to forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo, June 19, 2013. Picture taken June 19, 2013. REUTERS/Nour Kelze (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTX10UMG

Russia banks on Syrian unity

As Moscow grapples with the changes in the region, it continues to support an inclusive peace process in Syria.

Children of a Christian family, who fled from the violence in Mosul two days ago, stay at a school in Arbil, in Iraq's Kurdistan region June 27, 2014. Iraqi forces launched an airborne assault on rebel-held Tikrit on Thursday with commandos flown into a stadium in helicopters, at least one of which crashed after taking fire from insurgents who have seized northern cities. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS CONFLICT SOCIETY) - RTR3W0VR

Christians displaced again by Iraqi violence

Thousands of Christians have fled from Mosul to Iraqi Kurdistan after ISIS took control of the city.

Eggs packed in cartons are pictured at a chicken farm in the western town of Schleiden January 6, 2011. The German government moved to calm public fears on Wednesday after highly toxic dioxin contamination in the feed of poultry and hogs turned out to be far more widespread than first thought. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender (GERMANY - Tags: POLITICS HEALTH FOOD) - RTXW9LJ

Turkey assesses losses from Iraqi market

Turkish officials, politicians and traders are trying to calculate Turkey's losses in the Iraqi market after the ISIS takeover of Mosul and other Iraqi cities.