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

Iran cover image

Iraq

July 14, 2026

Baghdad 7:42 pm

42°C

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi meets with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House, Washington, DC, July 14, 2026.

Trump hosts Iraqi PM Zaidi as Iran war intensifies

The pair met in the Oval Office a day after President Donald Trump pledged to reinstate a naval blockade on Iran.

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.

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

Iraqi women candidates attend a debate forum in Baghdad, April 19, 2014. As Iraq's general election draws closer, both men and women are vying for seats in the country's parliament. But this year's election, the first one after the withdrawal of U.S troops in 2011, has seen an increase in the number of female candidates. According to an Iraqi election official, women make up around 30 to 35 percent of the candidates in the April 30 election. "The total number of nominees in the 2010 parliamentary election

Iraqi women make gains in parliamentary elections

The strong showing of female candidates during the April 30 Iraqi elections reflect a change in this traditionally male-dominated society.

Fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) stand guard at a checkpoint in the northern Iraq city of Mosul, June 11, 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 11, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNRE

Participation of Sunnis key to Iraqi reconciliation

Iraqi government must recognize the failed policies that led to the Sunnis' displacement and suffering in Mosul.

A man displays Iraqi army body armour in front of an Iraqi army vehicle and other items of military kit, at the Kukjali Iraqi Army checkpoint, some 10km of east of the northern city of Mosul, on June 11, 2014, the day after Sunni militants iincluding fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) overran the city. Half a million people were estimated to have fled Iraq's second largest city, as Islamist militants tightened their grip after overrunning it and a swathe of other territory, patro

In Iran, headlines blame foreigners for ISIS advances

As the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham continues to make gains in Iraq, Iran’s right-wing media outlets are running constant updates on the situation and officials are blaming Western and Arab countries for supporting extremist groups.

Families fleeing the violence in the Iraqi city of Mosul arrive at a checkpoint in outskirts of Arbil, in Iraq's Kurdistan region, June 10, 2014. Radical Sunni Muslim insurgents seized control of most of Iraq's second largest city of Mosul early on Tuesday, overrunning a military base and freeing hundreds of prisoners in a spectacular strike against the Shi'ite-led Iraqi government. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR3T260

ISIS weighs approach on Baghdad

The fall of Mosul into the hands of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) is an indicator of the breakdown in the Iraqi army, and shows the necessity to unify the ranks in Iraq to fight terrorism.

People ride a motorcycle belonging to the Iraqi army at a Kurdish military checkpoint on the outskirts of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk June 11, 2014. Kurdish forces initially attempted to stop people driving vehicles looted from the Iraqi army at the checkpoint but eventually let them through as there were too many of them. Sunni insurgents from an al Qaeda splinter group extended their control from the northern city of Mosul on Wednesday to an area further south that includes Iraq's biggest oil refine

Iraqi soldier describes army 'without leadership' in Mosul

The governor of Ninevah province, Atheel al-Nujaifi, blames "Maliki and his policies" for the fall of Mosul.

Burnt vehicles are seen during clashes between Iraqi security forces and al Qaeda-linked Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the northern Iraq city of Mosul, June 10, 2014. Radical Sunni Muslim insurgents seized control of most of Iraq's second largest city of Mosul early on Tuesday, overrunning a military base and freeing hundreds of prisoners in a spectacular strike against the Shi'ite-led Iraqi government. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR3T3UD

Iran officials call for international response to ISIS violence

Iranian officials respond to the fall of Mosul to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham extremists.

Syrian Kurds continue to blame Turkey for backing ISIS militants

In a report from northeast Syria, Syrian Kurds, locked in a bloody battle with the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), also fear a potential clash with Syrian government forces.

A man, who was injured during a suicide bomber attack in Mwafaqiya village at Mosul, lies in a hospital bed after he was brought for treatment in a hospital in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region, June 6, 2014. Militants fought Iraqi security forces in the northern city of Mosul on Friday, a day after parts of another city were briefly overrun by insurgents. A curfew was imposed on Mosul on Thursday, when Sunni Islamist insurgents moved into parts of the city of Samarra, bringing them wit

ISIS 'hit and run' tactics reveal Iraqi security weaknesses

The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) is briefly occupying Sunni neighborhoods then immediately withdrawing, to weaken confidence in Iraqi forces and display its power.

Iraqi Shi'ite youths use computers at an internet cafe in Sadr City in Baghdad May 3, 2014. Iraq is now gripped by its worst violence since the heights of its 2005-2008 sectarian war, and Sunni Islamist insurgents who target Shi'ites have been regaining ground in the country over the past year. But despite the instability, daily life continues in poor Shi'ite neighbourhoods of Baghdad such as Al-Fdhiliya and Sadr City - a sprawling slum marred by poor infrastructure and overcrowding. Picture taken May 3, 20

Iraqi entrepreneurs strike it rich reselling goods on Facebook

Iraqi entrepreneurs have launched Facebook pages selling US and European products to Iraqis, who usually do not have access to international goods.

Blindfolded suspected militants, with possible links to al-Qaeda, are seen at Iraqi police headquarters in Diyala province, north of Baghdad December 5, 2011. Police forces arrested 30 suspected militants during a raid in Diyala province, a police source said. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CONFLICT) - RTR2UVUD

Transitional justice fails in Iraq

After the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, measures to implement transitional justice have been largely unsuccessful.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY SALAM FARAJ
An Iraqi boy uses the light at the end of a lighter to study during a power outage in Baghdad on March 19, 2014. As recently as the 1970s, the Iraqi capital was lauded as a model city in the Arab world, but now, after decades of seemingly endless conflict, it is the world's worst city according to the latest survey by the Mercer consulting group. AFP PHOTO/ALI AL-SAADI (Photo credit should read ALI AL-SAADI/AFP/Getty Images)

Lights out on Maliki's electricity promises

Ali al-Fayyad, deputy head of the Iraqi parliament's Energy Committee, said he's hoping the private sector steps in to ease the electricity crisis that the people have suffered from for decades, especially in the scorching summer months.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani shake hands before their meeting in Istanbul April 19, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer/Pool (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR30XVH

How Turkey lost its influence in Iraq

Ankara's tilt toward the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has undermined its once considerable influence in Iraq.