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Iraq

July 3, 2026

Baghdad 4:13 pm

43°C

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images

Here's what to know about Iraq's corruption as Zaidi launches crackdown

Watchdogs and financial institutions regard Iraq as a significantly corrupt country as the new prime minister works to recover public funds.

aqi security personnel patrol in a vehicle along a street in Baghdad on June 28, 2026.

Analysis

Iraqi PM’s anti-corruption drive comes as US pressure mounts on Iran-backed militias

Iraq’s new prime minister has launched a sweeping anti-corruption campaign ahead of key talks in Washington, but analysts say the real test will be whether it reaches Iraq’s most powerful Iran-backed actors.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

A worker at a market for fuel oil and automotive fuel on March 17, 2026, in Erbil, Iraq.

Explainer

After UAE and Qatar, could Iraq be next to leave OPEC?

Iraq is seeking a higher production quota as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has slashed oil revenues and plunged the country into a fiscal crisis.

Latest News

Iraq taps Krikor Der-Hagopian as first Armenian Christian ambassador to US

Krikor Der-Hagopian at the 9th Sulaimani Forum, in Sulaimaniyah, Iraq, on April 16, 2025.

Exclusive

Barrack heads to Iraq as US presses Baghdad on Iran-backed militias

Tom Barrack

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Culture

World Cup opens amid visa disputes for Iran, Iraq and Somalia

Members of the Iranian national soccer team including midfielder Alireza Jahanbakhsh (R) arrive at Tijuana International Airport on June 7, 2026, in Tijuana, Mexico.

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 mourners attend the funeral of two Saraya al-Salam fighters.

Amid increasing tensions between militias, Muqtada al-Sadr calls for reforming the PMU

Rival Shiite armed factions took their fight to Iraq’s key port city as leaders officially called for calm and closed offices.

Iraq protest

Analysis

The Takeaway: Uneasy calm returns to Iraq but deep divisions remain

Israel’s top figures divided on Iran deal; Turkish pop star arrested; Iranian museum fumigates for bugs; Cairo evicts Nile island residents; and Hamas reacts to Turkish-Israel rapprochement.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Kurdistan oil

US says oil contracts in Iraqi Kurdistan should be ‘respected’

Some companies have pulled out of the autonomous region following pressure from the federal government, which considers the Kurdistan Region’s oil exports unconstitutional.

Iraqi army forces deploy to guard the entrance of the high-security Green Zone after the withdrawal of supporters of Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr from the area, Baghdad, Iraq, Aug. 30, 2022.

Iraqi PM threatens to step down as tensions persist after clashes

Following the bloody clash in Baghdad's Green Zone, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhimi threatened to vacate the position if the conflict continues.

Syrian Kurds demonstrate on June 10, 2021, in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli.

How realistic is Erdogan’s vision for security belt from Syria to Iraq?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he is bent on creating an “end-to-end” security belt along Turkey’s southern borders with Syria and Iraq — a vision too ambitious given the political and topographic conditions of the areas in question.

Supporters of Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr rest during a protest.

Deadly intra-Shiite violence rattles Iraq’s Kurds

Kurds are "deeply troubled by the new cycle of violence in Iraq" and look to be peacemakers.

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images

Protesters withdraw from Baghdad's Green Zone

Following Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's order, his followers have withdrawn completely from the Green Zone and evacuated the parliament building.

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images

Iraq's neighbors urge calm in response to Baghdad clashes

The situation in Baghdad has calmed somewhat after cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on his supporters to pull back.

ASAAD NIAZI/AFP via Getty Images

Iran urges dialogue amid Iraq turmoil

Iranian authorities have called on Iraqi factions to seek political solutions as Baghdad streets saw deadly clashes between members of the Shiite Sadrist movement and their Tehran-backed rivals.

A supporter of Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr sits with his portrait during the weekly Friday prayers.

Sadr announces hunger strike as 20 killed in Baghdad clashes

Clashes between rival Shiite groups, the Sadrists and the Popular Mobilization Units, have left more than 20 dead and hundreds injured.

Iraqi police are pictured standing guard at the closed gate of the government headquarters.

Iraq issues arrest warrants for Sadrist leaders after judiciary storming

The Iraqi judiciary issued arrest warrants and travel bans against key Sadrist movement leaders amid violent political conflicts, but their enforcement could be a sensitive task.

A supporter of Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr carries bullet casings and a spent shotgun shell.

US: No plans to evacuate embassy in Baghdad, monitoring clashes

White House official calls for calm in Iraq following Muqtada al-Sadr's resignation from politics.