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Iraq

July 15, 2026

Baghdad 2:12 pm

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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

President Donald Trump emphasized Iraq’s “tremendous oil reserves” and possible deals with US companies.

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

Shi'ite pilgrims run between the Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas shrines as part of a ritual of the Ashura ceremony in Kerbala, 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Baghdad, November 14, 2013. During Ashura, Shi'ite Muslims commemorate the slaying of Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein in Kerbala in 680 AD. The most important day in the Shi'ite calendar, Ashura has become a show of strength in Iraq for a majority whose public worship was repressed by former dictator Saddam Hussein. REUTERS/Mushtaq Muhammed (IRAQ - Ta

Iraq's religious minorities and Shiite mourning holidays

Mandeans and Christians in Iraq adjust to and sometimes join the commemorations of the death of Hussein bin Ali during the lengthy Shiite mourning period.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (R) and President of Iraqi Kurdistan Masoud Barzani greet people during a ceremony in Diyarbakir November 16, 2013. The president of Iraqi Kurdistan called on Turkey's Kurds to back a flagging peace process with Ankara on Saturday, making his first visit to southeastern Turkey in two decades in a show of support for PM Erdogan. Barzani's trip to Diyarbakir, the main city in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated southeast, comes as Ankara finalises billions of dollars of energy d

Erdogan-Barzani 'Diyarbakir encounter' milestone

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for the first time ever, says "Kurdistan."

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, President of Iraqi Kurdistan Masoud Barzani (L) and Kurdish poet and singer Sivan Perwer (R), who had fled Turkey in the 1970s, greet people, as they are flanked by politicians and chidren during a ceremony in Diyarbakir November 16, 2013. The president of Iraqi Kurdistan called on Turkey's Kurds to back a flagging peace process with Ankara on Saturday, making his first visit to southeastern Turkey in two decades in a show of support for Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan

An atmosphere of peace, not of farewell

Kurdistan Region of Iraq President Massoud Barzani joined Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a historic visit to Diyarbakir.

A demonstrator gestures as he stands behind burning barricades during a protest in the Tuzlucayir neighbourhood of Ankara September 9, 2013. Billed as a symbol of peace between two faiths, a new place of worship has turned Tuzlucayir, a poor suburb of Ankara, into a battleground and exposed wider sectarian tensions within Turkey. The project's blueprint envisages a Sunni mosque rising side by side with a new cemevi, or assembly house, to be used by Alevis, Turkey's biggest religious minority. But with its c

Turkey’s Alevi question

The government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is seeking to heal old wounds with Turkey’s Alevi community, while stepping back from sectarian regional policies.

Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) head Saleh Muslim speaks during a conference in Paris November 13, 2013. Islamist groups in northern Syria are weakening after months of fighting and Kurdish militias are gaining ground, top Kurdish leader Muslim said on Wednesday, vowing to continue their advances. To match SYRIA-KURDS/ REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer (FRANCE - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTX15C6C

Kurds divided over Syrian autonomy

The Democratic Union Party (PYD) is proceeding with its plans for a transitional government in the Kurdistan region of western Syria, despite the opposition of the Kurdish National Council and Iraqi Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani.

Boys carry weapons during a weapon handover event to the Iraqi government in Basra, 420 km (260 miles) southeast of Baghdad December 11, 2010. Several Iraqi tribes handed over their weapons, acquired during the Saddam Hussein era, to the Iraqi government, as part of a security plan to improve the security situation in southern Iraq. Picture taken December 11, 2010. REUTERS/Atef Hassan (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXVNSE

Carrying weapons is new norm for Iraqi youths

Amid the devastating violence that has plagued Iraq for the past 10 years, Iraqi youths are increasingly carrying knives and other light weapons.

Iraqi Sunni Muslims wave the old flags of Iraq during an anti-government demonstration in Falluja, 50 km (31 miles) west of Baghdad May 3, 2013. Tens of thousands of Sunni Muslims poured onto the streets of Ramadi and Falluja in the western province of Anbar following Friday prayers, in their biggest show of strength since the outbreak of protests last year. REUTERS/Mohanned Faisal (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION CIVIL UNREST) - RTXZ987

Iraq's unknown future

It's no secret that Iraq’s present situation is dire; however, the question is still pertinent regarding what we can expect for the nation’s future.

Demonstrators hold Kurdish flags and flags with portraits of the jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan during a gathering to celebrate Newroz in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir March 21, 2013. Ocalan ordered his fighters on Thursday to cease fire and withdraw from Turkish soil as a step to ending a conflict that has killed 40,000 people, riven the country and battered its economy. Hundreds of thousands of Kurds, gathered in the regional centre of Diyarbakir, cheered and wav

Diyarbakir is ready for the historic visit

Diyarbakir is ready for the visits of Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government President Massoud Barzani and Kurdish singer in exile Shivan Perwer, upon Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s invitation.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (R) speaks as Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev listens during a news conference following a signing ceremony in Istanbul June 26, 2012. Turkey and Azerbaijan signed an inter-governmental agreement on Tuesday on the $7 billion Trans-Anatolian natural gas pipeline project (TANAP), planned to carry Azeri natural gas across Turkey to Europe. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev signed the deal at an Istanbul ceremony to launch a project

Turkey’s restart in regional and foreign energy policies

Ankara is recasting its policies toward Cyprus, Israel, Azerbaijan and Iraq.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu addresses the media during a joint news conference with Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari at the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Baghdad, November 10, 2013. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX157TO

Turkey charts new course in Iraq

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's recent visit to Baghdad, Najaf and Karbala is the latest sign of a new, dual-track policy on Iraq that is endorsed by the United States.

An aerial view of excess gas burning off at the al-Ahdab oil field in Wasit province September 23, 2011. Chinese company, the China National Petroleum Corporation has begun operations at the Al-Ahdab oil field in Iraq, according to news reports. Picture taken September 23, 2011. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ - Tags :POLITICS BUSINESS - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY BUSINESS) - RTR2RRJ2

Iraq: Oil companies tighten security following attack

Following the Nov. 1 attack on the Ahdab oil field in southern Iraq, foreign oil companies operating in the country have tightened security measures while the government tries to ease concerns.

Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) (C) speaks next to European Parliament leader of the Civil Liberties Committee Inquiry Claude Moraes (L) and German Member of the European Parliament and the current Chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs Elmar Brok (R) about a closed door meeting on NSA surveillance on U.S. allies while on Capitol Hill in Washington, October 28, 2013. REUTERS/Larry Downing (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS)

House Intel Committee Chairman worried about bad deal on Iran

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, says Congress should pass further sanctions on Iran.