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Iraq

July 15, 2026

Baghdad 9:20 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

Iraqi pre-Islamic landmark threatening to collapse

The pre-Islamic Taq Kasr monument is suffering from neglect and is in dire need of maintenance.

Iraqi Shi'ite Turkmen fighters take part in an intensive security deployment in the town of Taza, south of the northern oil city of Kirkuk, June 19, 2014. The United States is contemplating talks with its arch-enemy Iran to support the Iraqi government in its battle with Sunni Islamist insurgents who routed Baghdad's army and seized the north of the country in the past week. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR3UOZA

Is Iraq's Kirkuk on verge of becoming independent region?

A proposal to make Kirkuk an independent region has Turkmens and Kurds assessing the future of the province.

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

Head of Fallujah liberation offers views on upcoming Mosul battle

Lt. Gen. Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi, who oversaw the Fallujah operation, speaks to Al-Monitor about lessons learned from that fight and offers his view on the impending battle to retake Mosul from IS.

An Iraqi Christian man fleeing the violence in the Iraqi city of Mosul, sits inside the Sacred Heart of Jesus Chaldean Church in Telkaif near Mosul, in the province of Nineveh, July 20, 2014. The head of Iraq's largest church said on Sunday that Islamic State militants who drove Christians out of Mosul were worse than Mongol leader Genghis Khan and his grandson Hulagu who ransacked medieval Baghdad. Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako led a wave of condemnation for the Sunni Islamists who demande

Christians in Iraqi Kurdistan complain about land seizure

Christians in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq complain of attempts to seize their land, which will push them to emigrate, as happened in Baghdad and other Iraqi provinces.

Iraq's Kurdistan region's President Massoud Barzani speaks during a news conference with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Erbil, Iraq December 8, 2015. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RTX1XPSR

How new alliance among Iraq's Kurds might actually deepen divisions

The recently formed alliance between Gorran and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan has raised the ire of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, deepening divisions in Iraqi Kurdistan.

How religious holidays are uniting Iraqi Muslims and Christians

Iraqi Muslims celebrated Christmas to show solidarity with Christians last year, while the Chaldean Catholic Church announced a day of fasting during the holy month of Ramadan this year to show that all Iraqis are united.

How this young Yazidi is bringing hope to IS victims

Pari Ibrahim, a young Yazidi women living in the Netherlands, established the Free Yezidi Foundation to highlight the stories of victims of this Iraqi community at the hands of the Islamic State.

An Iranian sniper stands on a hill as a helicopter flies overhead in military manoeuvres in western Iran, September 18, 2004. The manoeuvre by Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards are taking place near the border with Iraq. REUTERS/Fars News Agency MN/DBP - RTRB3OE

Why Iranian Kurdish party is stepping up fight against Tehran

The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan broke the two-decade cease-fire by launching attacks on IRGC forces, which triggered Iranian attacks against Iraqi Kurdistan.

After 20-year break, these Iranian Kurds are taking up arms again

In a surprise development, the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran, which has not used guns against the Iranian regime for 20 years, has resumed fighting, reportedly instigated by regional powers.

What's next for Iraq's Anbar after liberation from IS

Disputes prevail over the provincial council in Anbar province, which was recently liberated from IS; the disagreements likely will delay the return of the displaced and the reconstruction process.

Workers set up a natural gas pipeline during a dust storm at Iraq's border with Iran in Basra, southeast of Baghdad, April 12, 2016. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani - RTX29NH6

Iran’s pipeline politics reaches Iraqi Kurdistan

The planned construction of a pipeline connecting Iraqi Kurdistan with Iran could further cement Iran's position as the regional energy hub — and also benefit Kurds on both sides of the border.

Will Popular Mobilization Units participate in battle for Mosul?

Popular Mobilization Units leaders insist on participating in the fight to liberate Mosul, despite renewed demands by some Sunni politicians to exclude the units because of their history of human rights violations.