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Iraq

April 28, 2026

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Ali al-Zaidi

Breaking | Last Updated: April 27, 2026, 3:43 pm

Iraq's Shiite alliance nominates Ali al-Zaidi as PM candidate: What to know

Ali al-Zaidi, who leads a bank accused of money laundering, received support from previous nominee Nouri al-Maliki and incumbent Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, though it remains unclear whether the Trump administration will approve of him.

Qais al-Khazali (L), head of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq group, stands along with former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki after casting their ballots at a polling station in Baghdad on Nov. 11, 2025.

Split over Maliki, Iraq’s Shiite bloc delays PM vote as deadline nears: What to know

Two other candidates have emerged as alternatives to Coordination Framework nominee and former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who is openly opposed by the Trump administration.

Members of Iraq's security forces stand guard on the the al-Rabia border crossing with Syria on April 20, 2026.

How Syria's border opening with Iraq redefines Turkey-Kurd balance

After years of closure, the reopening of al-Yaaroubiya crossing is redrawing Kurdish economic leverage and reinforcing Turkey’s regional strategy.

A man walks through the atrium during the 2026 IMF and World Bank Group Spring Meetings in Washington, DC, on April 14, 2026. (Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images)

IMF slashes Mideast outlook by nearly 3 points as Iran war hits economies

The International Monetary Fund cut gross domestic product forecasts for the Middle East and North Africa, with the fallout from the conflict exposing stark divergences between the region’s energy exporters and importers.

Latest News

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia summon Iraqi diplomats over militia attacks: What to know

A photograph shows the damage in the aftermath of a drone strike in the Seef district of Manama on March 10, 2026.

Exclusive

'King of Iraq': Top judge Zaidan played key role in Shelly Kittleson's release

An undated image of Shelly Kittleson.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Analysis

How fast can Gulf energy production rebound after US-Iran ceasefire?

picture of Qatar Energy's operating facilities on March 3, 2026, in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

US journalist Shelly Kittleson released by Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq

An undated image of Shelly Kittleson.

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

Islamic State resurfaces with attacks in Iraq’s Diyala province

The Islamic State's gruesome killing of a sheikh and some of his relatives by rigging his corpse with explosives has led to security concerns in the multiethnic region bordering Iran, long a hotbed for extremism and susceptible to sectarianism.

Iraqi parliament votes on final version of electoral law

Iraq's Council of Representatives voted on the electoral law, which, if passed, will put forward the program for early elections scheduled for next June.

A man drives a group of pupils to school in al-Qaim in the Iraqi Anbar province, opposite Albu Kamal in Syria's Deir Ezzor region, on November 13, 2018. - Iraqi troops have reinforced their positions along the porous frontier with neighbouring war-torn Syria, fearing a spillover from clashes there between the Islamic State (IS) group and US-backed forces. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP) (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraq's western Anbar province getting back on its feet, eyeing autonomy

Iraq’s Sunni-majority Anbar province has in recent months completed a number of infrastructure works in the hope of attracting more investment as the US troops' presence winds down, amid debate over the possibility of carving out an autonomous region.

Demands for payment from tribes, militias stalling investment in Iraq

Economic projects in Iraq are facing major setbacks due to ongoing payment demands from tribes and armed groups.

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - UNDATED: (FILE PHOTO) Former former Baath official and deputy to deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri (C) is shown in this 1999 photograph in Baghdad, Iraq. Arab television network Al Jazeera played an audio tape March 27, 2006 purportedly from al-Douri, in which he urges Arab leaders to boycott Iraq's government and recognizes the resistance. (Photo by Salah Malkawi/Getty Images)

Iraqi Baath Party announces death of top adviser to Saddam Hussein

Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri escaped the 2003 US invasion and led the Naqshbandi Army's insurgency against Baghdad.

Ex-Ninevah governor arrested as Iraqi government reins in corruption

The arrest and forced removal of Iraqi government officials signals attempts to curb rampant corruption that has plagued the country.

Sunni agreement to expel Popular Mobilization Units from liberated Iraqi cities

Sunni political parties are using murders in Salahuddin province to demand an end to the presence of armed militias blamed for killings.

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. - Hundreds of Iraqi Kurds marched Friday to protest Turkish strikes against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) after Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara would press an operation against its bases. (Photo by SAFIN HAMED / AFP) (Photo credit should read SAFIN HAMED/AFP via Getty Images)

Yazidis react to Sinjar accord amid growing KRG-PKK tensions in Iraq

A security agreement reached earlier this month between the Iraqi central government and the Kurdistan Region on the disputed territory of Sinjar has sparked both praise and criticism as tensions rise between the KRG and the PKK.

Sunni Muslim men pray over the bodies of eight out of 12 fellow Iraqis, who were reportedly kidnapped on October 17 and later some of them found shot dead, during their burial ceremony in the Farhatiya area of the Balad region, located 70 kilometres (around 45 miles) north of Baghdad in the Salaheddin province, on October 18, 2020. - Local sources said the four other kidnapped men have not been found and the identity of the assailants remains unknown in the mysterious crime. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/A

Iraqi Sunni politicians organize a new political front

Dozens of Iraqi Sunni lawmakers have met to discuss forming a new alliance after eight youths were killed with alleged involvement by Shiite-led factions in Salahuddin province.

UK to return 5,000 ancient artifacts to Iraq

Included in the repatriation is a 4,000-year-old Sumerian relic discovered in an online auction.

Iran desperate to maintain Iraqi financial lifeline

Iran seeks to maintain the flow of hard currency from Iraq to help it overcome the US sanctions.

UN project hopes to preserve Iraq’s marshlands

A new UN-funded cultural project has been launched in the Ahwar of Southern Iraq to save the inhabitants of the marshlands from poverty.