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Iraq

May 9, 2026

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Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada Sadr gives a speech in Iraq's central holy shrine city of Najaf on August 30, 2022.

Iraq’s Sadr says 'exclude' armed groups from next government as pressure builds

The cleric's call comes as Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi tries to form a government amid political divisions and US demands to curb the influence of Iran-backed actors.

Popular Mobilization Forces

US sets expectations for Iraq’s next PM to confront Iranian militias

The Trump administration is cautiously sizing up Iraq’s new prime minister-designate, Ali al-Zaidi, as a potential partner in pushing back on Iranian influence.

Zaidi

Analysis

Iraq’s Zaidi offers economic promise for Turkey but unknowns loom

Iraq’s prime minister-designate, Ali al-Zaidi, is expected to sustain growing economic and strategic ties with Turkey thanks to his business-oriented approach, though uncertainty over his political stance could test cooperation on sensitive issues.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Latest News

Analysis

US banking on Iraqi turnaround with nomination of Zaidi as new PM

Ali Al-Zaidi

Week in Review

By Week in Review

Analysis

MENA wheat importers face food security risks as Hormuz crisis festers

Crops of wheat and barley in Terbol village on May 10, 2022, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Trump congratulates Iraq PM-designate Zaidi in call: What to know

Iraq's prime minister-designate, Ali al-Zaidi, at Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's office on April 28, 2026.

Meet Ali al-Zaidi, businessman and Iraq's new prime minister-designate

Prime Minister Mohammed S. al-Sudani met with Prime Minister-designate Ali Faleh al-Zaidi on April 28, 2026.

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 Shi'ite youths smoke water pipes at an outdoor cafe in Sadr City in Baghdad April 29, 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. REUTERS/Ahmed Ja

What do Iraqis want from their leaders?

What do Iraqis look for in a leader? Unsurprisingly, security, low corruption and development top many people's lists.

A burnt vehicle belonging to Iraqi security forces is pictured at a checkpoint in east Mosul, one day after radical Sunni Muslim insurgents seized control of the city, June 11, 2014. Sunni insurgents from an al Qaeda splinter group extended their control from the northern city of Mosul on Wednesday to an area further south that includes Iraq's biggest oil refinery in a devastating show of strength against the Shi'ite-led government. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Can Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE form Arab security alliance?

With the Islamic State (IS) out to change the regional order, Gulf states ought to establish a security alliance to prevent this from happening.

Iraq's Prime Minister-designate Haider al-Abadi smiles during a meeting German's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Baghdad August 16, 2014. Steinmeier arrived in Baghdad on Saturday for talks with Iraqi officials on what could be done to help the country in its fight against insurgents of the Islamic State. REUTERS/Hadi Mizban/Pool (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTR42MV6

Iraqi prime minister’s task not an easy one

Amid the security, political and social unrest, the tasks of Iraq’s prime minister-designate, Haider al-Abadi, will be hindered if the people do not unite.

The Armenian St. Kevork Church (Saint George) is seen in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, on October 30, 2012, after it was burnt during fighting between rebel fighters and Syrian government forces. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Aleppo's Christians in Syrian crossfire

Christians in Aleppo fear an uncertain fate; Iran’s decisive role in the appointment of Haider al-Abadi as Iraqi prime minister-designate; battle for Arsal may not be over yet; Netanyahu is Israel’s "weakest prime minister" ever; lobbying profiles of Gulf countries to be released.

$Iraqi newly elected parliament speaker Salim al-Juburi (C) stands between his deputies Haidar Al Abadi (L) and Aram Sheikh Mohamad (R) in Baghdad on July 15, 2014. Iraq's fractious parliament elected a speaker after two failed sittings, with al-Juburi winning comfortably according to a tally announced live on state television. The much-delayed election kickstarts a political process which should also see lawmakers agree on a federal president, who then designates the largest bloc, the candidate of which has$

How Haider al-Abadi became Iraq's next prime minister

Iranian officials helped lay the groundwork for the appointment of Iraq's new prime minister-designate.

Iraqi Christians displaced by the violence in their country wait in line to receive aid from a Chaldean Catholic Church truck in Beirut August 13, 2014. Well financed and armed, Islamic State insurgents have captured large swathes of territory in a summer offensive, as the Iraqi army - and now Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the self-governing north - have crumbled in the face of its onslaught, massacring Shi'ites and minority Christians and Yazidis as they advance. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON - Tags: POLI

Lebanon a safe haven but Middle Eastern Christians still at risk

The arrival of Iraqi Christians in Lebanon is significant, as the country has historically been considered a safe haven for Christians in the Levant, and requires considerable diplomatic support from religious and political authorities in the region.

Firefighters inspect a market destroyed after an attack by Iraq security force helicopters in Ramadi, June 8, 2014. More than 420,000 people have already escaped the two main cities of western Anbar province, Falluja and Ramadi, in fighting since the start of the year. REUTERS/ Ali al-Mashhadani (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY MILITARY) - RTR3SS3E

Barrel bombs pummel Anbar

Analysts say the Iraqi government is pursuing a scorched-earth policy, using barrel bombs to regain control of cities it lost to terrorist organizations.

An Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighter poses for a picture on the front line in Makhmur, about 280 kilometres (175 miles) north of the capital Baghdad, during clashes with Islamic State (IS) militants on August 9, 2014. Makhmur, is one of the areas that had been attacked by jihadist fighters in recent days. AFP PHOTO/SAFIN HAMED (Photo credit should read SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images)

Iraqi Kurds accuse local Arabs of supporting IS

Iraqi Kurds say many local Arabs aided the Islamic State in their recent offensives against Kurdish forces.

A militant Islamist fighter waving a flag, cheers as he takes part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. The fighters held the parade 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 from cars and holdi

IS emerges from radical Islamic jurisprudence

The Islamic State and other radical groups found their religious underpinnings in the heart of Islamic teachings.

Iraqi soldiers fire artillery during clashes with Sunni militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the town of Jurf al-Sakhar, south of Baghdad June 30, 2014. Iraqi troops battled to dislodge the al Qaeda splinter group from the city of Tikrit on Monday after its leader was declared caliph of a new Islamic state in lands seized this month across a swathe of Iraq and Syria. Alarming regional and world powers, the ISIL claimed universal authority when it dropped the local element in its nam

Money, power draw young Iraqis to IS

Many young people from Jurf al-Sakhar in Iraq are volunteering to join the Islamic State (IS) to secure a monthly income.

Meet the female peshmerga forces fighting IS

Kurdish female peshmerga fighters are joining the battle against the Islamic State to thwart any possible attack against Kurdish areas.

Turkey’s exports decrease amid regional tension

Turkey has suffered unexpected declines in its exports to Iraq, Libya, Egypt, Ukraine and Russia, though Turkish exports to Russia may have more potential following its recent foodstuff import boycott of the United States and European Union.