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Iraq

June 29, 2026

Baghdad 9:53 pm

37°C

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images

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

Watchdogs and financial institutions regard Iraq as a significantly corrupt country as the new prime minister works to recover public funds.

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

Analysis

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

Iraq’s new prime minister has launched a sweeping anti-corruption campaign ahead of key talks in Washington, but analysts say the real test will be whether it reaches Iraq’s most powerful Iran-backed actors.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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

Explainer

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

Iraq is seeking a higher production quota as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has slashed oil revenues and plunged the country into a fiscal crisis.

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

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

Baghdad’s pick of a US-educated Armenian Christian adviser as envoy to Washington underscores a bid to reset US-Iraq ties and broaden the country’s diplomatic profile.

Latest News

Exclusive

Barrack heads to Iraq as US presses Baghdad on Iran-backed militias

Tom Barrack

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Culture

World Cup opens amid visa disputes for Iran, Iraq and Somalia

Members of the Iranian national soccer team including midfielder Alireza Jahanbakhsh (R) arrive at Tijuana International Airport on June 7, 2026, in Tijuana, Mexico.

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 Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi leaves Downing Street after a meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Oct. 22, 2020 in London, England.

Baghdad Conference showcases Iraq's new role as mediator in region

Iraq is hosting a regional conference, bringing Iraqi neighboring countries together to support Iraq ahead of early elections.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Syria celebrates Taliban's declared "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan"

Are Syrian jihadis ready to take the fight to Afghanistan?

Afghanistan revives terror challenges for Washington; Russia anticipates security vacuum; Erdogan senses an opportunity.

Aug. 27 march backing Sadr

Iraq's Muqtada al-Sadr announces support for elections

Sadr's announcement comes a month after he called on his supporters to boycott the October elections.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Iran's new foreign minister visits Baghdad for regional summit

The summit is the latest effort by Iraq to reduce tensions between Iran and its Sunni Arab neighbors.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi looks on as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks briefly to the press outside of her office at the US Capitol on July 28, 2021 in Washington, DC.

Baghdad holds national dialogue in runup to regional conference

Leaders of popular protests and other social movements gathered for a national conference sponsored by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in Baghdad to discuss Iraq's outstanding issues and the early elections scheduled for October.

Iraqi Shiite Muslim pilgrims who began their march from the southern port city of al-Faw walk through Basra on their way to the holy city of Karbala ahead of the Arbaeen religious festival on Sept. 17, 2020.

Iraq under pressure to open borders for Shiite pilgrims despite pandemic

While the Iraqi government attempts to prevent the spread of the delta variant from Iran, there is internal and external pressure to open its borders for Shiite pilgrims to visit the holy cities of Karbala and Najaf.

A member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) carries an automatic rifle on a road in the Qandil Mountains, the PKK headquarters in northern Iraq, on June 22, 2018.

Turkey strikes PKK targets in Iraq's Kurdistan region

Turkey has bombed suspected hideouts of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party in Iraqi Kurdistan, reportedly destroying ammunition depots, caves and other hideouts.

Migrants are seen through a fence as they stand and sit by tents in a camp near the border town of Kapciamiestis, Lithuania, July 18, 2021.

Displaced Iraqis caught in middle of EU-Belarus tensions

The Iraqi government is helping its displaced citizens stuck in Eastern Europe to return to Iraq.

Iraq drought

Water crisis puts 12 million at risk in Syria, Iraq, aid groups say

Higher temperatures, drought and record low rainfall levels are depriving millions of people of drinking and agricultural water.

Firat News

Turkish airstrikes claim Yazidi lives in Iraq’s Sinjar

Turkish airstrikes hit makeshift hospital in the predominantly Yazidi Sinjar region of Iraq on Tuesday.

An Iraqi municipal worker fixes the cables of an overhead power line in al-Zahraa neighborhood in Mosul, during an ongoing military operation against the Islamic State, Iraq, Jan. 11, 2017.

Electrical towers again become targets in Iraq

Iraq's transmission towers are increasingly the target of bombings.

slain Karbala mayor

Iraq moves to protect state property

The Iraqi government launched a campaign to remove encroachments in Iraq, which is more likely to anger political parties and armed groups whose huge influence has allowed their supporters to encroach on state-owned land.