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Iraq

October 22, 2026

Baghdad 7:10 am

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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 woman walks in between newly planted trees in Iraq's northern city of Mosul, on January 23, 2019, as the war-ravaged city gets a facelift following three years of brutal rule by the Islamic State group. (Photo by Zaid AL-OBEIDI / AFP) (Photo credit should read ZAID AL-OBEIDI/AFP via Getty Images)

Mosul sowing seeds post-Islamic State

The Mosul local government in cooperation with civil society is undertaking a project to plant a million trees in Mosul.

Zarif's visit to Baghdad foreshadows Iraqi PM's trips to Iran and Saudi Arabia

In today's Iran media review, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Iraq for the first time since Iran’s former Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani was assassinated by the United States in January.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi speaks during a press conference in Basra on July 15, 2020, during his first visit to the southern Iraqi province. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / POOL / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraq struggles to maintain power balance

The Iraqi government is trying hard to reduce tensions in the country and maintain a power balance between regional and international forces in order to initiate its reform plan.

Iraqis, some wearing a protective mask amid the COVID-19 pandemic, buy fresh produce from a street seller at a market in Karrada, in the capital Baghdad, on July 14, 2020. - Iraq, in a bid to prevent the spread of the deadly COVID-19 illness, shut its 32 border crossings to goods and people coming from Iran, Turkey, Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia in mid-March, which helped its agriculture ministry accelerate a campaign to make Iraqi food markets self-sustainable, after years of relying on foreign imports fo

Closing borders due to COVID-19 revives Iraqi agriculture

Iraq's agriculture sector has been revived in the past few months, after the government closed its borders and banned the import of agricultural produce as a preventive measure against the coronavirus outbreak.

Iraq to reopen airports this month

The country is still registering around 2,000 COVID-19 cases per day, close to its highest-ever daily toll.

Intel: US squeezes Islamic State’s cash flow with new sanctions

The United States and six other countries imposed fresh sanctions today on half a dozen targets accused of helping fund the operations of the Islamic State (IS or ISIS), including by funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars to the group’s leaders in Iraq and Syria.

An Iraqi phlebotomist holds a bag of plasma donated by a recovered COVID-19 patient at the blood bank of Iraq's southern city of Nasiriyah in Dhi Qar province, on June 24, 2020. (Photo by Asaad NIAZI / AFP) (Photo by ASAAD NIAZI/AFP via Getty Images)

Virus survivors rake in cash for plasma on Iraq’s black market

Recovered coronavirus patients in Iraq are selling their blood plasma for $2,000 per liter on the black market as health leaders watch in dismay.

BERLIN, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 19: Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of Egypt, arrives for the Compact with Africa summit at the Chancellery on November 19, 2019 in Berlin, Germany. The summit, hosted by the German government, brings together leaders from 12 African nations and seeks to further the groundwork for increased private investment in those countries. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Cairo cozies up to Baghdad, condemns Turkish attacks in Iraq

Egypt's efforts to sideline Turkey in Iraq have expanded as Cairo cements economic and military ties with Baghdad.

Iraqi volunteers with the Aqiq Institution for Charity work on building a 525-bed field hospital at the Baghdad International Fair exhibition center in the capital Baghdad, on June 21, 2020, a facility the association is setting up as part of the efforts to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

PMU pitches in as COVID cases surge in Iraq

Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units, including those of populist cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr, have plugged gaps in Iraq’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic as cases surge and well-known fighters fall ill.

A Iranian man carries a portrait of slain Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, on the 40th day of his killing in a US drone strike, during commemorations marking 41 years since the Islamic Revolution, in the capital Tehran on February 11, 2020. - Thousands of Iranians massed for commemorations marking 41 years since the Islamic Revolution, in a show of unity at a time of heightened tensions with the United States. The celebrations mark the day that Shiite cleric Khomeini returned from exile and ousted the shah'

Intel: CENTCOM commander says Soleimani strike won’t deter Iran forever

The top commander of US military forces in the Middle East says he believes the assassination of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani has only temporarily deterred Iran from pursuing its goal of pushing US troops out of the region.

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 13: Kanye West arrives at Trump Tower, December 13, 2016 in New York City. President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team are in the process of filling cabinet and other high level positions for the new administration. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

What would President Kanye West's Middle East policy be?

Rapper Kanye West has yet to develop a foreign policy platform for his announced presidential candidacy, but his past lyrics, tweets and travels may reveal some of his views.

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - MARCH 13: Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, talks to journalists about the military response to rocket attacks that killed two U.S. and one U.K. service members in Iraq during a news briefing at the Pentagon March 13, 2020 in Arlington, Virginia. Because of the threat of transmission of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the Pentagon is exercising social distancing by keeping reporters' chairs four feet apart from each other during briefings. (Pho

US military consolidates footprint in Iraq amid pressure from Baghdad

The Pentagon's top general overseeing forces in the Middle East, Gen. Frank McKenzie, visited Baghdad this week amid a reshuffle of the US troop presence in the country in coordination with plans to bring in more NATO advisers.