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Iraq

October 20, 2026

Baghdad 12:28 pm

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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.

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.

Explainer

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

The withdrawal comes as the peace process between Turkey and the militant group gains momentum alongside increasing security cooperation between Ankara and Baghdad.

Demonstrators ride through a street while waving Syrian flags

Analysis

Why Syria and Iraq are taking different approaches to armed groups

In a break from past policies, the new governments in Damascus and Baghdad are clamping down on militant groups with the capacity or desire to harm regional partners.

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

Latest News

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

Analysis

After US exit, Iran gains space in Iraq and a harder balancing act

Members of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) paramilitary forces stand guard during an election rally for the "Asaib Ahl al-Haq" movement in the capital Baghdad, on October 7, 2021.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Trump’s integration policies build on Gulf, Turkey ties and Syria success

US President Donald Trump meets Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) on the sidelines of the NATO Summit at Bestepe Presidential Compound in Ankara, on July 8, 2026.

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 picture taken on Nov. 7, 2021, shows government buildings inside Baghdad's Green Zone across the Tigris River, following an overnight drone attack.

Iraq reveals details on assassination attempt targeting PM

In its first press conference, the special committee responsible for investigating the drone attack on the house of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi released new details and its first public report.

Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert speaks during a press conference on the upcoming elections, Baghdad, Iraq, Oct. 5, 2021.

Head of UN Iraq mission tells Security Council no evidence of election fraud

In her briefing to the UN Security Council, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert confirmed that there is no evidence for election fraud as claimed by some of the political parties that lost the parliamentary elections and warned of dire consequences if crucial reforms are not implemented.

US soldiers patrol an area near Syria's northeastern Semalka border crossing with Iraq's Kurdish autonomous territory, on Nov. 1, 2021.

Islamic State down but not out in Syria and Iraq: Pentagon report

Also, Al-Monitor’s on-the-ground reporting on the security situations in Syria and Iraq, including the impact of the Turkish lira crisis on Idlib.

Demonstrators hold Iranian flags during a protest on Sept. 15, 2018, against the torching of the Iranian Consulate and the Hashed al-Shaabi party (Popular Mobilisation) headquarters during recent protests in the southern Iraqi city of Basra.

Iran-linked militia calls up thousands of volunteers to fight US forces

An IRGC-linked armed faction in Iraq has urged men across the country to take up arms against any US forces remaining after Dec. 31, claiming to have received tens of thousands of "calls" from citizens willing to help.

SAFIN HAMED/AFP via Getty Images

Iraq flies hundreds back from Belarus border as EU adds sanctions

Iraq has brought back over 400 of its citizens who chose repatriation after weeks stranded in dire conditions on the Belarus border and failed attempts to enter the EU.

Supporters of the pro-Iran Hashid al-Shaabi alliance burn a banner bearing a crossed portrait of the special representative of the UN secretary-general's Assistance Mission for Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.

UN official speaks with Iraqi leaders to break post-election deadlock

Jeanine Antoinette Plasschaert, special representative of the secretary-general for Iraq, held talks with the head of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Qais al-Khazali, to settle the election results crisis.

Muqtada al-Sadr, Iraqi militia leader and Shiite Muslim cleric, gives a news conference in the central holy shrine city of Najaf, on Nov. 18, 2021.

Sadr calls for majority government, 'liquidation' of Iraqi militias

Sadr calls for forming majority government as the Iraqi President Barham Salih hosted a meeting with the prime minister and the judiciary head to discuss the current political deadlock and present initiatives for it.

SAFIN HAMED/AFP via Getty Images

Iraqi Kurdistan brings home migrants trapped at Belarus-Poland border

The Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq said its constituents were lured into emigrating by criminal smugglers.

A member of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), made up of an alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters, removes an Islamic State group flag in the town of Tabqa, about 55 kilometres (35 miles) west of Raqa city, on April 30, 2017, as they advance in their battle for the group's de facto capital.

Attack on Syrian prison holding Iraqi Islamic State captives raises concerns

Local forces backed by coalition air support reportedly prevented an attack on a prison housing thousands of Islamic State operatives in northeastern Syria under Kurdish-led administration.

WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP via Getty Images

Iraq to repatriate citizens stranded at Belarus border

The Iraqi announcement came as the European Union said it would step up sanctions on the Belarusian government and some airlines.

A picture taken on Nov. 12, 2021 shows migrants in a camp on the Belarusian-Polish border in the Grodno region. - Hundreds of desperate migrants are trapped in freezing temperatures on the border and the presence of troops from both sides has raised fears of a confrontation.

Airlines suspend Belarus-bound travel for Middle East migrants

Turkish Airlines and Iraqi Airlines restricting flights to Minsk for citizens of Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

Migrants at the Belarus-Poland border make fires to keep warm on Nov. 11, 2021.

Thousands of Iraqi, Syrian refugees shiver at Belarus-Poland border

Iraqi Yazidis, Syrian Kurds and others are trapped in miserable conditions on the border, caught in a dispute between Belarus and the European Union.