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Iraq

October 21, 2026

Baghdad 12:34 pm

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Safin HAMID / AFP via Getty Images

Iran says deal reached with Iraq to expel Kurdish separatists: What to know

Iran said an agreement was reached with Iraq to expel or hand over members of Kurdish separatist groups based in Iraqi Kurdistan.

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.

Latest News

Analysis

Why Syria and Iraq are taking different approaches to armed groups

Demonstrators ride through a street while waving Syrian flags

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

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

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 man counts a pile of US Dollar bank notes in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on May 4, 2020, during the novel coronavirus pandemic crisis. - With its financial outlook darkening by the day, Iraq is considering slashing its massive public payroll -- an unpopular move likely to renew protests.
OPEC's second-largest producer has been hit hard by the double-whammy of collapsed crude prices and the COVID-19 pandemic, which have hacked at its revenues from oil sales. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD A

International financial alliance forms to help Iraq

Several countries are forming an economic alliance to help Iraq in its financial crisis.

France signs financing agreement with UN to support Iraqi elections

The UN-France deal supports Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission ahead of early elections slated for next summer.

An Iraqi woman farmer harvests tomatoes in Diwaniyah, around 160 kilometres (100 miles) south of the capital Baghdad, on April 2, 2018. - Iraqi farmers have traditionally lived off their land with no need for wells, but a creeping drought is now threatening agriculture and the livelihoods of nearly a quarter of the country's population in the southern agricultural provinces of Diwaniyah, Muthanna and Missan. (Photo by Haidar HAMDANI / AFP) (Photo credit should read HAIDAR HAMDANI/AFP via Getty Images

Iraq, Saudi Arabia agree to boost ties

A high-level Saudi delegation visited Baghdad to sign several economic and investment agreements in order to create a balance between Iraq's neighboring countries.

Iraqi officials welcome Biden presidency

While Iraqi leaders and officials have welcomed a Biden presidency, there are worries about what direction US policy will take when it comes to Baghdad.

Iraq’s camp closures could leave 100,000 homeless as winter looms

The Norwegian Refugee Council said displaced Iraqis are being forced from their camps with little notice.

Damaged military gear is scattered on the ground at the site of an Islamic State (IS) group attack, a day earlier, on a unit of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation Forces) in Mukaishefah, about 180km (110 miles) north of the capital, on May 3, 2020. - IS group remnants in Iraq are exploiting a coronavirus lockdown, coalition troop withdrawals and simmering political disputes to ramp up deadly attacks, according to analysts and intelligence officials, the bloodiest so far being an ambush early on M

Suspected Islamic State gunmen kill 11 at military post outside Baghdad

Initial reports suggest the attack is the largest against Iraqi security forces in months.

'How Does a Detonator Work?' Portland man indicted for publishing Islamic State newsletter

Hawazen Sameer Mothafar allegedly helped IS with social media and published articles online that encouraged jihadi attacks.

An employee turns a valve at the Nahr Bin Omar natural gas field, north of the southern Iraqi port of Basra on April 21, 2020. (Photo by Hussein FALEH / AFP) (Photo by HUSSEIN FALEH/AFP via Getty Images)

Russia, Iraq face OPEC+ cuts, look to new deals

While Iraq's dependence on imported Iranian electricity continues to worry Washington, the key to breaking this energy dependence lies in the development of its own gas fields.

Netflix to show first movie about Iraq battle against Islamic State in Mosul

“Mosul,” an Iraqi film production on one of the stories of the battle to liberate the city, is set to be shown on Netflix this month.

Kurdish riot police, some wearing protective masks due to COVID-19, stand guard during a demonstration to denounce the Turkish assault in northern Iraq, in Sulaimaniyah city, in the Kurdish autonomous region of northern Iraq, on June 18, 2020. - Turkey launched a rare ground assault into northern Iraq on June 17, deploying special forces against rebels from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which is blacklisted by Ankara as a "terrorist" group. Baghdad demanded Ankara immediately halt its assault in northe

Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq accuses PKK of attacks

The Kurdistan Regional Government condemned an apparent Kurdistan Workers Party attack on peshmerga soldiers in Dahuk province; the KRG and the PKK had a turf dispute earlier this year.

Seized drugs are incinerated by Iraqi Kurdish security forces on October 29, 2013 in the Iraqi northern city of Arbil. Authorities said they seized one ton of various drugs in the past months. AFP PHOTO / SAFIN HAMED (Photo credit should read SAFIN HAMED/AFP via Getty Images)

Drug smuggling, abuse on the rise in Iraq

Iraq suffers from the flow of drugs from neighboring countries, especially Iran, through the marshes and other border crossings, and the spread among the youth has become a threat to society.

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.