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Iraq

June 30, 2026

Baghdad 1:07 am

34°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

Brett McGurk and Mustafa al-Kadhimi

US military presence in spotlight after Baghdad meeting

The US military has no orders to withdraw from Iraq, officials say, following meeting of White House Middle East Coordinator with Iraqi Prime Minister.

Coronavirus vaccine given in Altun Kupri

Iraq's Kurdistan Region detects first case of Delta variant

Several Middle Eastern governments have instituted measures aimed at mitigating the spread of COVID-19 variants recently.

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images

Iraqi Shiite leader Sadr to sit out October election

Muqtada al-Sadr also said he would withdraw his support for the current government and its replacement.

An Iranian policeman checks the travel document of a pilgrim at the Mehran border point between Iran and Iraq.

Iran presses for visa waiver from Iraq

Iranian authorities continue to pressure the Iraqi government into waiving its travel visa between the two countries.

Bafel and Lahur Talabani

Talabani family feud at center of power struggle in Iraqi Kurdistan party

The apparent takeover of the Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party by Bafel Talabani is more family affair than policy dispute.

Bagram base in Afghanistan

The Takeaway: Erdogan weighs risks of Afghan mission against benefits for US ties

Also: Gulf airline race takes off; Islamic State steps up Iraq attacks; Fortnite fatwa riles Egyptian gamers; is Israel’s army too small?; child beggars in Gaza’s cemeteries; Iraq unearths 4,000 year old city; and more! All in only about 1,500 words.

An Iraqi demonstrator carries a portrait of an activist who has been missing for weeks and was allegedly kidnapped

Iraqis campaign against impunity for violence

Activists in Iraq and abroad are seeking to pressure Iraqi authorities into preventing impunity for perpetrators of abuses.

Assyrian villagers of Iraq's Nahla Valley work to put out flames caused by Turkish airstrikes.

Turkish airstrikes ignite Assyrian lands, villagers organize firefighting response

The fire and lack of emergency response is endemic in the region as Turkish attacks routinely impact communities in Iraq’s north.

This photo taken during a press tour organized by the US-led coalition fighting the remnants of the Islamic State shows US soldiers clearing rubble at Ain al-Asad military air base, Anbar province, Iraq, Jan. 13, 2020.

Islamic State uses hit-and-run tactics in Iraq

Islamic State cells continue to target Sunni areas while armed groups thought to be close to Iran step up attacks on facilities hosting international coalition forces.

Shahmardnan Amirov, the project co-director, at work on the sounding with the Iraqi official representative Amjad Neama.

Archaeological digs unearths new details of 4,000-year-old city in Iraq

An Iraqi-Russian team accomplished the first soundings of a previously unexcavated ancient settlement about 4,000 years old in Iraq's Dhi Qar governorate.

An Iraqi man works at a generator subscription distribution room in Sadr City, east of the capital, Baghdad, on July 2, 2021.

Iraq invests in clean energy

Iraq is investing in clean energy to produce electricity, especially solar energy, which is almost available throughout the year in various regions of the country.

pmu march in baghdad

The Takeaway: Does Iran want to scuttle nuclear deal talks with militia attacks in Iraq?

Also: Fresh reporting from Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Gaza; high oil prices may undercut GCC reforms; a cure for termites in Egypt; and more.