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Iraq

July 20, 2026

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Iraq

Breaking | Last Updated: July 18, 2026, 4:27 pm

International oil firms halt production in Iraq’s Kurdistan amid US-Iran escalation

The move follows the deaths of two US service members in an Iranian attack on Jordan.

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.

Latest News

Trump hosts Iraqi PM Zaidi as Iran war intensifies

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.

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

A woman walks past the site of a car bomb attack in Baghdad's Sadr City, June 18, 2014. At least 13 people were killed and 30 others wounded in a car bomb explosion in Baghdad's mainly Shi'ite neighbourhood of Sadr City, according to police and hospital officials. REUTERS/Wissm al-Okili (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR3UDVU

Iraq's warring powers approach sectarian faultlines

The battle between Iraqi forces and the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) could get even more brutal as the conflict occurs in Sunni-Shiite contact points.

Volunteers who have joined the Iraqi Army to fight against the predominantly Sunni militants, who have taken over Mosul and other Northern provinces, chant slogans in Baghdad, June 14, 2014. Iraq's most senior Shi'ite Muslim cleric urged followers to take up arms against a full-blown Sunni militant insurgency to topple Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, escalating a conflict that threatens civil war and a possible break-up of the country. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS M

Iraqi Turkmen take up arms in Kirkuk

Iraqi Turkmen, wary of gains by both Iraqi Kurds and the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), have moved to create their own armed militia.

Turkish trucks and tankers, shuttling between Turkey and Iraq, queue on a road leading to the Habur border gate in southeastern Turkey, before crossing into Iraq with their goods, February 23, 2008. Turkey's exports to Iraq jumped nine percent last year to $2.8 billion and its influence can be felt across northern Iraq in the form of supermarkets, consumer goods, construction firms and traders from all over Turkey. To match feature TURKEY-IRAQ/CONFLICT REUTERS/Fatih Saribas (TURKEY) REUTERS/Fatih Saribas

Iraq crisis hits Turkish economy

Iraq is Turkey's second leading export market, but trade routes to Baghdad and farther south are currently blocked because of ISIS's capture of Iraqi territory.

Volunteers, who have joined the Iraqi Army to fight against predominantly Sunni militants, carry weapons and a portrait of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani during a parade in the streets in Baghdad's Sadr city June 14, 2014. An offensive by insurgents that threatens to dismember Iraq seemed to slow on Saturday after days of lightning advances as government forces regained some territory in counter-attacks, easing pressure on the Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad. REUTERS/Wissm al-Okili (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL

Sistani stresses need for unity over sectarianism in battle for Iraq

Shiite cleric Ali al-Sistani stresses the need for Iraqis to support the army and avoid sectarianism in battling the current Sunni rebellion sweeping the country.

A fighter from Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) stands near burning confiscated cigarettes in the city of Raqqa April 2, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT RELIGION SOCIETY) - RTR3JOPD

Three reasons Lebanon fears ISIS advance

The Lebanese are concerned that their country may be the next target of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham.

Iran wins again in Iraq

The Islamic Republic of Iran does not mind Iraq being divided into thirds, if that is the outcome.

Russia will not be a spoiler in Iraq

The United States should not expect much help from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Hamid Aboutalebi.jpg

Iran, US can end Iraq crisis, says Rouhani adviser

Hamid Aboutalebi, deputy chief of staff for political affairs for President Hassan Rouhani, said that Iran has not ruled out cooperation with the United States over Iraq.

Fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) stand guard at a checkpoint in the northern Iraq city of Mosul, June 11, 2014. Since Tuesday, black clad ISIL fighters have seized Iraq's second biggest city Mosul and Tikrit, home town of former dictator Saddam Hussein, as well as other towns and cities north of Baghdad. They continued their lightning advance on Thursday, moving into towns just an hour's drive from the capital. Picture taken June 11, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNRE

Turkey should close its border to ISIS

The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) has depended on the Turkish border for its operations in Syria; US Sen. Tim Kaine offers a blueprint for US-Egypt ties; Al-Monitor’s Year in Review and Back Channel.

Members of the Kurdish security forces take part in an intensive security deployment on the outskirts of Kirkuk June 12, 2014. Militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) overran the northern city of Mosul earlier this week and have since pressed south towards Baghdad in an onslaught against the Shi'ite-led government. The Kurds, who run their own autonomous region in the north, have taken advantage of the chaos to expand their territory, taking control of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk and

Iraqi Kurds maneuver between Maliki and Mosul

The Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq may have gained some leverage on Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki for now, but the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) may be trouble in the future.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani (R) greets the audience as he and his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul arrive at a meeting in Ankara June 10, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3T167

Will Turkey and Iran find common ground in Iraq?

Developments in Iraq, coming soon after a visit by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Turkey, might be forcing a change in Turkey's approach to jihadist groups.

Residents gather to protest near the house of prominent Sunni Muslim lawmaker Ahmed al-Alwani, in the centre of Ramadi, December 29, 2013. Iraqi security forces arrested Alwani in a raid on his home in the western province of Anbar, sparking clashes in which at least five people were killed, police sources said. Picture taken December 29, 2013. REUTERS/Ali al-Mashhadani (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX16X7M

Iraq’s Sunni divide may be too great

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki never implemented promised reforms to integrate and share power with Iraq’s Sunni communities.