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Iraq

October 30, 2026

Baghdad 3:19 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

Flags of the al-Qaeda linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant are hung on The Martyrs Church in Raqqa city centre September 27, 2013. The Al-Qaeda linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant removed crosses from The Martyrs Church in Raqqa and hoisted their flags on Thursday, activists say. REUTERS/Stringer (SYRIA - Tags: RELIGION CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX14223

Jihadist Websites Linked to Syria Thriving on Internet

The rise of Islamist groups in Syria’s civil war has shed light on the proliferation of extremist ideologies and communication via discrete Internet networks.

Policemen operate a checkpoint in Baghdad October 17, 2011. As U.S. troops prepare to withdraw from Iraq, Baghdad security officials believe Iraqi forces are now more capable of containing violence, and plan to steadily cut back on checkpoints by around 50 percent and remove the blast walls in the city by the beginning of next year before reviewing the security situation again. Picture taken October 17, 2011. To match feature IRAQ-BAGHDAD/ REUTERS/Mahmoud Raouf Mahmoud (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST

Iraq: Tinted Cars and Ghost-like Officials

Iraqi officials and influential figures often distance themselves from average citizens, hiding behind tinted car windows and under the protection of extensive security details.

A Kurdish female fighter from the Popular Protection Units (YPG) carries a walkie-talkie as she stands near fellow fighters carrying their weapons and using binoculars in the Kurdish town of Ifrin, in Aleppo's countryside October 14, 2013. Kurds comprise around 10 percent of Syria's 23 million population. They are concentrated in Ifrin and other areas of the northwest, in parts of Damascus and in the northeastern oil producing area of Qamishli, where there has also been intense fighting between Kurds and al

Syrian Kurds Beset by Divisions

Syrian Kurds are resisting efforts by Iraqi Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani to exert influence over their movement.

Kurdish security forces react after a bomb attack in the city of Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region, about 350 km (217 miles) north of Baghdad, September 29, 2013. Six people were killed on Sunday in a series of explosions outside a security directorate in the capital of Iraq's usually peaceful autonomous Kurdistan region, security and medical sources said. Gunfire could be heard after the blasts in Arbil that wounded a further 36 people, according to the city's health directorate. The vi

KRG Responds to Article On Terrorist Bombing in Erbil

In a letter to the editor, a director in the office of the Kurdistan Regional Government's Representation to the US, Karwan Zebari, responds to Denise Natali's Al-Monitor article "Prison Break, Suicide, Bombing, Rock Iraqi Kurdistan."

Citizen ambassador.jpg

Iraqi Youth Initiative Combats Sectarianism

Citizenship Ambassadors aims to bring together youths from Iraq's various religious and ethnic communities and regional affiliations to combat the escalating sectarian conflict in the country.

A weapons dealer checks AK-47 rifles before selling it to smugglers transferring it to Syria, at his house near the city of Mosul, 390km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, February 16, 2012. The weapons dealers sell a rifle for about $1000. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CONFLICT) - RTR2XY8B

Smugglers Easily Cross Iraq’s Border

Despite the efforts of Iraq and the six countries bordering it, Iraq’s borders are easily navigated by professional smugglers.

Syrian refugees, who fled the violence in Syria, are seen at a school that functions as a shelter for Syrian Kurdish refugees at Qushtapa at the outskirts of the city of Arbil in Iraq's Kurdistan region, August 23, 2013. The number of Syrian children forced to flee their devastated homeland reached 1 million on August 23, 2013, half of all the refugees driven abroad by a conflict that shows no sign of ending, the United Nations said. Another two million Syrian minors are uprooted within their country where

New Iraqi Association Strives To Help Unmarried Women

"Single Women" recently opened its doors in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region to assist unmarried women who have traditionally been neglected by society.

A fan wearing a Ghostface mask from Scream holds an Iraqi flag during Iraq's international friendly soccer match against Syria at Baghdad's Shaab stadium March 26, 2013. Iraq will be allowed to play friendly matches at home again following approval from soccer's world governing body FIFA on Thursday. Iraq were banned from playing all games at home for security reasons after losing a World Cup qualifier 2-0 to Jordan at the Franso Hariri Stadium in Arbil in September 2011. The reprieve does not apply to Worl

Soccer Decision Fuels Sense of Iraqi Victimhood

Given the inextricable relationship between sports and politics in Iraq, a decision by the Gulf states to move the 2013 Gulf Cup of Nations out of Basra has hit a personal note with Iraqi politicians.

A man looks at a car on fire at the site of a bomb attack in Baghdad October 7, 2013. Bombs exploded across the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 22 people, police said. Five of the six blasts were in mainly Shi'ite Muslim districts, but there was also an explosion in the predominantly Sunni Muslim neighborhood of Doura. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX142ZK

The Crisis of Moral Decline in Iraqi Society

Following years of violence and despotic rule, Iraqis have lost a sense of moral responsibility toward society, something that must urgently be addressed to provide security and reach lasting solutions.

Iraq's Morgues Overwhelmed By Surge in Terror Attacks

The recent surge in suicide attacks has started overwhelming Iraq’s morgues, even though the country has become experienced in dealing with large numbers of deaths given its numerous wars since 1980.

Iraqi security forces and people stand at the site of a car bomb attack in Basra, 420 km (261 miles) southeast of Baghdad, October 13, 2013. A series of bombs killed at least ten people in mostly Shi'ite Muslim provinces of Iraq on Sunday ahead of the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha, police and medical sources said. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS CRIME LAW) - RTX149QD

Iraq Plays Politics with Security As Elections Approach

Iraqi politicians treat security as an electoral matter, while security disintegrates throughout the country.

An Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim boy kisses a poster of the Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in the town of Karbala, some 110 km south from the Iraqi capital Baghdad, early February 6, 2004. Iraq's most powerful Shi'ite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, survived an assassination bid on Thursday when gunmen opened fire on his entourage in the sacred streets of Najaf, a security aide said. The assassination attempt comes days before a team of United Nations electoral experts is due to arrive in the country to assess the feasi

Sistani Issues Fatwa Against Sectarian Violence in Iraq

Amid rising sectarian rhetoric and violence in Iraq, Iraqi Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has issued a fatwa condemning anti-Sunni violence.