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Iraq

July 15, 2026

Baghdad 5:56 pm

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Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi meets with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House, Washington, DC, July 14, 2026.

Trump hosts Iraqi PM Zaidi as Iran war intensifies

President Donald Trump emphasized Iraq’s “tremendous oil reserves” and possible deals with US companies.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi at a Council of Ministers meeting in Baghdad on July 11, 2026.

Analysis

On first foreign trip, Iraqi PM Zaidi woos Trump but Iran casts long shadow

Iraq's new prime minister is in Washington promising business deals and closer ties with the United States, but convincing the Trump administration he can rein in Iran-backed militias may prove his toughest challenge.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Analysis

Can a UAE-backed Syria-Iraq corridor become Gulf's next trade route?

An aerial view shows port of the western Syrian port city of Latakia, on Dec. 18, 2024.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Here's what to know about Iraq's corruption as Zaidi launches crackdown

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Iraqi PM’s anti-corruption drive comes as US pressure mounts on Iran-backed militias

aqi security personnel patrol in a vehicle along a street in Baghdad on June 28, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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

Who is Golani, Nusra's No. 1 man?

Al-Monitor has exclusive information about the life of Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the leader of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra). Witnesses talked about his jihad in Iraq and his journey back to Syria from where he announced the formation of Jabhat al-Nusra in 2012.

U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Stuart Jones (center L) walks with Secretary of State John Kerry (center R) as he arrives via military transport at Baghdad International Airport in Baghdad April 8, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSE4QI

Lobbying 2016: US comes to Iraq’s rescue

Lieutenant General Abdelwahab al-Saadi speaks during an interview with Reuters in Falluja, Iraq, June 20, 2016. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RTX2H7ML

Security trench around Fallujah leaves residents feeling trapped

The Iraqi government is digging a trench to protect Fallujah, but the idea is raising concerns that civilians will end up isolated from the rest of the country.

Residents and Iraqi security forces inspect the site where a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest at the entrance to Kadhimiya, a mostly Shi'ite Muslim district in northwest Baghdad, Iraq July 24, 2016. REUTERS/Khalid al Mousily - RTSJDJ7

Kadhimiya and Adhamiya, symbols of Iraqi sectarianism

Baghdad's Kadhimiya and Adhamiya suburbs face each other on opposite sides of the Tigris and also reflect the sectarian division from which Iraq suffers.

Iraq's Vice President Nouri al-Maliki (L) and new Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi shake hands during the session to approve the new government in Baghdad, September 8, 2014.Iraq's parliament approved a new government headed by Haider al-Abadi as prime minister on Monday night, in a bid to rescue Iraq from collapse, with sectarianism and Arab-Kurdish tensions on the rise. REUTERS/Hadi Mizban/Pool (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR45G35

Is Maliki plotting return to power with Kurdistan visit?

Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's visit to Sulaimaniyah has sparked rumors of his hopes of regaining the premiership.

Shi'ite fighters from Saraya al-Salam, who are loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, gather in the holy city of Najaf before heading to the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit to continue the offensive against Islamic State militants March 20, 2015. Iraq's most important Shi'ite religious leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, called on Friday for greater professionalism and planning by government forces and allied militias in fighting Islamic State insurgents. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani - RTR4U6EW

Abadi moves to demilitarize Iraq's cities

Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi has instructed the Interior Ministry to take measures to remove signs of militarization from Iraqi cities.

Members of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) attend a news conference to announce the final results of the parliamentary election in Baghdad May 19, 2014. Prime Minister Nouri Maliki won the largest share of Iraqi parliamentary seats in last month's national elections, dealing a blow to Shi?ite, Sunni and Kurdish rivals who opposed his serving a third term. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: ELECTIONS POLITICS) - RTR3PUN0

Demand for reform reaches Iraq's electoral commission

A group of Iraqi parliamentarians wants to dissolve the Independent High Electoral Commission, but no satisfactory mechanism for selecting a new commission has been offered.

Members of al Qaeda's Nusra Front ride on a tank as they head towards their positions during an offensive to take control of the northwestern city of Ariha from forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, in Idlib province May 28, 2015. The Syrian army has pulled back from the northwestern city of Ariha after a coalition of insurgent groups seized the last city in Idlib province in northwestern Syria near the Turkish border that was still held by the government. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah - RTR4XXNO

Al-Qaeda affiliate’s desperate 'switch' validates US Syria policy

Fear of US and Russian airstrikes on eve of Syrian offensive a sign that Jabhat al-Nusra may be feeling the heat; Turkey’s de-Gulenification campaign in context; retired Saudi general probes Israeli commitment to peace settlement.

Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is seen during a protest against corruption at Tahrir Square in Baghdad, July 15, 2016. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani - RTSI1H7

Iraq's civil movement breaks away from Sadr protests

Civil society is stretching its own wings to wrestle the Iraqi civil movement away from the control of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr through the formation of new groups distancing themselves from the Sadr alliances.

A Bedouin rides a camel in the desert between Anbar and Kerbala February 24, 2015. Picture taken February 24, 2015. REUTERS/Mushtaq Muhammed (IRAQ - Tags: SOCIETY ANIMALS) - RTR4R25N

Even camels struggle to survive in war-torn, dry Iraq

The camel population in Iraq is dwindling as traditional camel herders are forced to settle in one place and grazing areas are consumed by development and drought.

De-mining teams searches for landmines in Rumaila oilfield in Basra province, April 2, 2016. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani - RTSD9ED

Can Iraq overcome its land mine infestation?

Efforts to rid Iraqi Kurdistan of millions of land mines are being hampered by financial problems, corruption and the Islamic State's tenacity in planting more mines.

Iraqi defence minister Khaled al-Obeidi (2nd L) visits a training camp for Kurdish peshmerga troops in Arbil, November 3, 2014. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR4COAG

Baghdad-Erbil bickering overshadows Mosul battle

Since the Iraqi central government excluded the Kurdistan Regional Government from a meeting for the anti-IS coalition in Washington, tension has been escalating between Baghdad and the Kurds, who stressed that they will not leave areas in Ninevah liberated from IS.