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Iraq

July 18, 2026

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US President Donald Trump (R) shakes hands with Prime Minister of Iraq Ali al-Zaidi during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, July 14, 2026.

Analysis

What Zaidi's Washington visit means for US investment in Iraq

Iraq could greatly benefit from US investment in gas capture, which could help reduce the country's dependence on neighboring Iran.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Hussein FALEH / AFP via Getty Images

Chevron, ConocoPhillips advance Iraq's Hormuz alternatives

Oil agreements have been announced or are expected to be signed on Friday, toward the end of Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi's visit to the United States.

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.

Latest News

Analysis

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

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

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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

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

Militant Islamist fighters on a tank take part in a military parade along the streets of northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. Militant Islamist fighters held a parade in Syria's northern Raqqa province to celebrate their declaration of an Islamic "caliphate" after the group captured territory in neighbouring Iraq, a monitoring service said. The Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot previously known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), posted pictures online on Sunday of people waving black flags

The Islamic State's media warfare

The Islamic State’s strategy of warfare in Syria and Iraq seems to be based on ways to disseminate their ideas, mainly through online media.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during Friday prayers in Tehran September 14, 2007. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN) - RTR1TTSE

Khamenei preaches Shiite-Sunni unity against Islamic State, US

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's Eid al-Ghadeer speech revealed his concern that the coalition against the Islamic State might give Sunnis and the United States the upper hand in the region.

Female school students wearing a full veil (niqab) walk along a street in the northern province of Raqqa March 31, 2014. The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has imposed sweeping restrictions on personal freedoms in the northern province of Raqqa. Among the restrictions, Women must wear the niqab, or full face veil, in public or face unspecified punishments "in accordance with sharia", or Islamic law. REUTERS/Stringer (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT RELIGION SOCIETY EDUCATION TPX

IS imposes new rules on education in Syria, Iraq

The Islamic State is leading a cultural revolution in Iraq and Syria, issuing new regulations to bring the educational system in line with Sharia and its Salafist ideology.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu talk to the media before a meeting in Ankara September 12, 2014. Kerry will meet Cavusoglu, as well as Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and President Tayyip Erdogan during his two-day visit to the capital Ankara, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR45Z12

Ankara struggles to maintain bearings in Kobani

The Turkish government has been compelled to change track under US pressure and the need to undo the international perception that Turkey supports the Islamic State.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov talk as they walk into the Chief of Mission Residence in Paris October 14, 2014. REUTERS/Carolyn Kaster/Pool (FRANCE - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4A5UI

IS threat unlikely to help US, Russia bridge divide

A common fear of the Islamic State does not appear to be enough for the United States and Russia to resolve their differences over Ukraine and other issues, despite positive signs from a meeting between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Paris.

LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 13: Singer Beyonce performs at the Staples Center on July 13, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Beyonce

Beyonce in Baghdad

When Beyonce sang "I Was Here" at the the UN General Assembly on World Humanitarian Day in 2012, it inspired a volunteer campaign in Baghdad by the same title.

A view shows actors during the filming of the set of the television series, whose title is loosely translated as "State of Myths" in Baghdad October 10, 2014. Humour and silly puns are being used as the latest weapons in the fight against extreme militants who now control large swathes of Iraqi territories. Playing on the words Kalifa (Caliphate) and Kurafa (myths or superstitions), the new Iraqi comedy show 'Dawlat al-Khurafa' (State of Myths), began airing on Iraqi state television early this month. Pictu

Corruption plagues Iraqi TV, film industry

The poor production quality of the Iraqi entertainment industry is the direct result of mismanagement made intractable by rampant corruption.

A man walks past a damaged building in the Anbar province town of Hit October 6, 2014. Iraqi forces backed by Shi'ite volunteer fighters are fighting to retake control of the western Iraqi town of Hit from the insurgents of the Islamic State, residents said. Residents said that fighting is going on in the outskirts of the town, which was captured by IS militants a week ago. Picture taken October 6. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR49ECK

Is Anbar Islamic State's Achilles' heel?

The Islamic State’s control of Anbar province and the city of Fallujah is key to their survival, and if lost the group's demise would follow.

Iraqi police display men arrested for drug smuggling in Baghdad February 11, 2012. Seven men were arrested attempting to smuggle over 4 kg of hashish into Iraq, according to Iraqi police. REUTERS/Saad Shalash (IRAQ - Tags: CRIME LAW DRUGS SOCIETY) - RTR2XNBL

Drug use spreads among Iraqi youth

Many Iraqi youths are using drugs to escape the hardships of their lives, as some are unemployed or come from fragmented families.

An Iraqi Shi'ite youth smokes a water pipe while sitting on a motorcycle in Sadr City in Baghdad April 27, 2014. Iraq is now gripped by its worst violence since the heights of its 2005-2008 sectarian war, and Sunni Islamist insurgents who target Shi'ites have been regaining ground in the country over the past year. But despite the instability, daily life continues in poor Shi'ite neighbourhoods of Baghdad such as Al-Fdhiliya and Sadr City - a sprawling slum marred by poor infrastructure and overcrowding. Pi

Yemen’s Houthis draw the attention of Iraqis

The Houthis in Yemen recently made the Iraqi headlines, as some consider that there are measures to direct the media toward the support of Shiite parties outside Iraq after internal failures.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iran's envoy to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), speaks during a news conference about the new political relations between Iran and Egypt after the newly elected Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi was sworn in, at the Iranian embassy in Cairo June 9, 2014. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3SWSY

IS sent warning letters to Middle East embassies

Iran's deputy foreign minister has said that the Islamic State sent letters to embassies warning them not to attack the group and that the United States notified Iran and Syria that its coalition would not target Syrian bases.

Smoke rises after an U.S.-led air strike in the Syrian town of Kobani Ocotber 10, 2014. Islamic State fighters advanced deeper into the Syrian town of Kobani on the Turkish border on Friday, taking almost complete control of an area where the local Kurdish administration is based, a group monitoring the violence reported. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST MILITARY CONFLICT) - RTR49OPT

How to defeat Islamic State's war machine

The Islamic State has to be recognized as a lethal and effective war machine at the tactical level.