Iraq - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

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Iraq

October 22, 2026

Baghdad 3:26 am

27°C

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

Iraqis wearing protective masks leave after shopping at the Mall of Baghdad as it reopens after a long closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in the Al-Harithiya area of the capital Baghdad, on July 19, 2020. (Photo by SABAH ARAR / AFP) (Photo by SABAH ARAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraq again breaks daily COVID-19 record

The outbreak is worst in Baghdad, Erbil and Basra.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY NICOLAS CHEVIRON Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) rebels man a security checkpoint on October 28, 2009 near a PKK base in the Qandil mountains, near Rania province, in northern Iraq. From their bases in northern Iraq, the Kurdish guerilla movement is defying recent overtures of the Turkish government to reconcile with Turkey's 15 million Kurds, saying it is ready to wage a 50-year war against Ankara. AFP PHOTO / MUSTAFA OZER (Photo credit should read MUSTAFA OZER/AFP

Turkey says it will continue attacks on PKK after Iraqi border guards killed

A Turkish drone strike targeting the Kurdistan Workers Party left two Iraqi border guards and their driver dead on Tuesday.

Iraqi detainees leave the prison after being freed on February 28, 2013 in the Iraqi capital Baghdad. 160 prisoners were freed today and Iraq has freed 4,000 prisoners since the beginning of 2013, Deputy Prime Minister Hussein al-Shahristani said Thursday, in an apparent bid to placate protesters in Sunni areas of the country. AFP/ PHOTO/ ALI AL-SAADI (Photo credit should read ALI AL-SAADI/AFP via Getty Images)

In dramatic move, Iraqi PM visits prisons in response to protester appeals

The Iraqi government is under pressure to reveal the fate of persons unaccounted for and those detained in secret prisons.

The Bayraktar TB2 drone is pictured flying on December 16, 2019 at Gecitkale Airport in Famagusta in the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). - The Turkish military drone was delivered to northern Cyprus today amid growing tensions over Turkey's deal with Libya that extended its claims to the gas-rich eastern Mediterranean. The Bayraktar TB2 drone landed in Gecitkale Airport in Famagusta around 0700 GMT, an AFP correspondent said, after the breakaway northern Cyprus government approve

Iraq tells Turkey defense minister to stay away after its officers killed in drone strike

Iraq cancelled a planned Baghdad visit by Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and summoned the Turkish ambassador after a a Turkish drone attack killed two senior Iraqi officials.

Iraq's Kurdistan Region recording highest-ever daily COVID-19 cases

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq has been hard hit by both the coronavirus and the economic impact of the lockdowns, as a top politician announces he has contracted the virus.

What are vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris' views on the Middle East?

Joe Biden's running mate has views on Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Syria that fall in line with the Democratic party establishment.

Turkish helicopters fly over the Cudi mountain during an attack on an outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) camp 30 October 2007 in the Cudi mountains, Sirnak province, near the Turkish-Iraqi border, south-eastern Turkey. Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani has urged Turkish Kurd rebels to renounce violence, but insisted he will take no "orders" from Turkey to crack down on their bases in the autonomous northern Iraqi region he administers. AFP PHOTO / MUSTAFA OZER (Photo credit should read MUSTAFA OZER/AF

Turkish drone strike kills two senior Iraqi officers, army says

Officials say the Tuesday strike targeted a meeting between Iraqi border officials and Kurdish militants.

TOPSHOT - This picture taken on August 4, 2020, shows a boy sits on a school bench after his village and school were flooded by the Ilosu Dam separating the newly constructed Hasankeyf town from the remains of the ancient town of the same name and its archaeological sites which were flooded as part of the Ilõsu Dam project located along the Tigris River in the Batman Province in southeastern Turkey. - Despite years of protests by residents and activists, the town on the banks of the Tigris River disappeared

What trump cards is Iraq pulling against Turkey to secure water quota?

Turkey refuses to abide by the protocols and treaties signed with Iraq on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers acting as if they are local rivers.

A man sits in fishing boat in the water of Shatt al-Arab in Iraq's southern port city of al-Faw, 90 kilometres south of Basra near the Gulf, on May 18, 2020. - In Iraq, a national lockdown to halt the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has found some unexpected fans: local businesses who no longer have to compete with Turkish, Iranian or Chinese imports. Those countries, as well as Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait, typically flood Iraqi markets with inexpensive products at prices local producers can't compete wit

Iraq's al-Faw port project's endless delays

The al-Faw grand port project has been long delayed due to financial problems, among other issues.

Tribal assassinations spark Iraqi-Syrian border concern

The assassination of a prominent tribal figure and reports of continuing smuggling of individuals from Syria into Iraq have raised concerns on both sides of the border.

Turkey strikes PKK targets in Iraqi Kurdistan Sulaimaniyah province

It is less common for Turkey to bomb the Kurdish armed group there. More of the Turkey-PKK conflict in Iraq takes place in Dahuk near the Turkish border.

After 30-year hiatus, French archaeological mission returns to Iraq

The French excavation mission succeeded in uncovering a network of large water channels, a port, houses and a large temple, as well as clay tablets in the city of Larsa, a capital city in the Babylonian era.