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Iraq

July 17, 2026

Baghdad 6:36 am

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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

As European dream fades, Iraqi Kurds return home

Thousands of Kurds who fled to Europe are now seeking to return to Iraq after facing an even harsher reality there.

Will Washington put more boots on the ground in Iraq?

The recent operation in Hawija led by the United States to release Islamic State hostages raised a debate in Iraq about the government’s powers and sovereignty over its territory.

An Iraqi Christian woman 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 deman

Is Congress paving the way for a Christian safe zone in Iraq?

A bipartisan effort to denounce an ongoing genocide is picking up steam. That's just the first step.

The child soldiers fighting to stop the Islamic State

Iraqis are divided between supporters and opponents of the participation of young people in the war against the Islamic State.

Kirkuk Governor Najmaldin Karim (C) walks with Kurdish peshmerga officers near Khabbaz oilfield, in the outskirts of Kirkuk February 1, 2015. Iraqi Kurdish forces on Sunday found and freed workers who had gone missing a day earlier when Islamic State insurgents seized a small crude oil station near the northern city of Kirkuk, the provincial governor and a provincial councilman said. Picture taken February 1, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW POLITICS ENERGY CONFLICT) - RTR4NVVJ

Kirkuk governor: US must work with Iran to stabilize Iraq

Kurdish leader Najmaldin Karim lays out his vision for post-IS peace.

Why Iraqi women are turning to the Internet to buy books

Iraqi women are ordering books from the comfort of their own homes, overcoming the crippling security conditions.

Why Iraqi Christians are against the establishment of their own autonomous region

The secretary-general of the Assyrian Democratic Movement and member of the Iraqi parliament, Yonadam Kanna, speaks to Al-Monitor about the Christians’ status in Iraq, while he denied claims that they are demanding an autonomous region of their own, saying these claims are racist.

A general view of Jerusalem's old city shows the Dome of the Rock in the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, October 25, 2015. Palestinian officials reacted warily on Sunday to what U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry hailed as Jordan's "excellent suggestion" to calm Israeli-Palestinian violence by putting a sensitive Jerusalem holy site under constant video monitoring. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RTX1T4AE

Zawahri and Jerusalem

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, in a new audio message following a classic pattern, lauds Palestinian attacks in Jerusalem and calls on followers to attack Israel's international backers to hasten the fall of the Jewish state.

When conflict arises, these Iraqis go to the madeef

Madeefs have become a popular alternative to the traditional legal system in Iraq, with Iraqis seeking the assistance of tribes to settle disputes and conflicts.

Iraqi Kurdish regional President Massoud Barzani (R) shakes hands with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi at Arbil International Airport April 6, 2015. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RTR4W82R

Is Abadi key to resolving Kurdish conflict?

As the political divide and violent protests worsen in Iraqi Kurdistan, will Baghdad be able to keep the situation under control through peaceful means?

United States Secretary of Defense Ash Carter prepares to testify at a Senate Armed Forces Committee hearing on "United States Strategy in the Middle East" in Washington October 27, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron - RTX1TGBO

Pentagon outlines its '3Rs' Islamic State strategy

Democrats and Republicans alike have misgivings about the Pentagon's push for a greater US role in Iraq and Syria.

Supporters of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki hold his portrait outside al-Dawa party's headquarters as they celebrate his return to Baghdad, 05 January 2008. Maliki arrived home today a week after flying to Britain for medical tests, saying in a newspaper interview he was determined to bring about reconciliation in the deeply divided country. AFP PHOTO / AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images)

Is Iraq’s Dawa Party on verge of division?

The Dawa Party, the main party in Iraq's ruling coalition in Iraq, is suffering divisiveness, with lines drawn between Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and his predecessor, Nouri al-Maliki.