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Iraq

August 28, 2026

Baghdad 7:31 pm

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Iraq summons Iran envoy over 'Persian Gulf' post, Baghdad name origins: What to know

The move comes amid heightened tensions in the region, including over the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the controversially referenced gulf to the Arabian Sea.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi delivers a speech in Baghdad, May 16, 2026.

Exclusive

Iraq's Zaidi set to make European debut with Macron in France

The Iraqi prime minister is expected to sign several memorandums of understanding with France during his Sept. 14 meeting with Macron as Baghdad seeks to diversify its diplomatic and security ties.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Oil falls 1.8% as traders await 'toughest' sanctions on Iran

Leon Neal/Getty Images

Iraq’s Zaidi doubles down on militia disarmament, boosting oil exports

Zaidi

Interview

Barzani calls for enhanced air defense for Kurdistan Region to counter drone attacks

Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government, gives a press conference in the autonomous region's capital Arbil on June 25, 2025.

Masrour Barzani

Masrour Barzani

KRG Prime Minister

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 woman looks on at the waste dump of Diwaniyah where families live in the rubbish with no electricity or drinking water, on March 25, 2018.

Iraqi Kurdistan water crisis blamed on climate and Iran

Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government has asked citizens to ration water.

An Iraqi medic picks an oxygen bottle for a COVID-19 patient at a hospital in the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk.

Iraq faces a new wave of COVID-19 cases amid great challenges

The Iraqi Ministry of Health worries that too many Iraqis are disregarding public health guidance and refusing to get vaccinated.

Funeral for Turkish soldier

Turkish soldier in Iraq killed fighting PKK

The deadly attack took place in the autonomous Kurdistan Region near the Turkish border, and followed the deaths of two Turkish soldiers in Syria over the weekend.

US President Joe Biden (R) hosts Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi for a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office at the White House, Washington, July 26, 2021.

Iraq's military disputes militia claim about drone attack

The Imam Ali Division militia claimed two drones attacked one of its storage facilities near Najaf.

Iraqis attend a funeral for an Iraqi family killed in an explosion a day earlier in a popular market in the Shiite-majority Sadr City neighborhood, east of the capital, Baghdad, on July 20, 2021.

Militias call for revenge against Sunni town over suicide attacks in Baghdad

The suicide attack on the Shiite-dominated Sadr City district of Baghdad on July 19 that killed at least 35 people has led some pro-Iran militias to demand vengeance against Sunnis near Baghdad.

US President Joe Biden meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi (L) in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, July 26, 2021.

Biden announces end to US combat mission in Iraq

Following a White House meeting today between US President Joe Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the two side announced an agreement that the US combat mission in Iraq will end by Dec. 31, 2021.

Iraqi Aqeel Hassan, part owner of private electric generators, is pictured on July 17, 2021, at his business in Baghdad's Sadr City district.

Amid Iranian gas shortage, Iraq searches for alternatives

Iran's dilapidated gas infrastructure has limited its transfers to Iraq, adding to Iraq's own energy crisis.

Fuad Hussein and Antony Blinken

Iraq still needs US help to defeat Islamic State, foreign minister says

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein made the remarks ahead of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s visit to Washington on Monday.

Muweis canal of Nile River in northern Egypt

How water has become a flashpoint in the Middle East

Al-Monitor reporting shows the increased risks and relevance of water security for Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia; Iran and Iraq; and Israel and Jordan.

This handout picture released by the US Army shows US Army Paratroopers at Pope Army Airfield in North Carolina, Jan. 1, 2020. Paratroopers from 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division were activated and deployed to the US Central Command area of operations in Iraq.

Intel: US to announce agreement to pull 'combat troops' from Iraq

Security will be at top of agenda for US-Iraq Strategic Dialogue today, and when US President Joe Biden hosts Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on July 26.

Iraqi workers walk at the Halfaya oil field near the southern city of Amara on Dec. 12, 2009.

Chinese oil companies fill void in Iraq

As major Western oil companies reconsider their positions in Iraq, China is seizing the opportunities offered by their departure.

Sadr City market explosion site

Baghdad explosion kills at least 28 in busy Sadr City market

The attack occurred in a crowded marketplace as residents were shopping for the holiday of Eid al-Adha.