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Iraq

January 13, 2026

Baghdad 11:21 pm

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Sadaf Ebrahimi walks down a row of demonstrators at Lafayette Park in front of the White House during the "Free Iran" rally on Jan 10, 2026, in Washington.

Analysis

Trump dials up risky Iran tariffs that would hit China, UAE and others: What to know

Any country trading with Iran now faces a 25% tariff, per the White House, but the move is unlikely to ratchet up pressure on Tehran in the short term.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Iranians gather while blocking a street during a protest in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 9, 2026.

From Iraq to Yemen, how Iran proxies are responding to protests

Iraqi militias and the Houthis are growing more vocal in their defense of Iran amid the protests sweeping the country, while Hezbollah and Palestinian groups are remaining relatively quiet.

Safin HAMID / AFP via Getty Images

Sharaa tells Iraq's Barzani Kurds integral to Syria amid fears of Aleppo spillover

More than 140,000 people have been displaced by fighting between Syrian government and Kurdish forces in Aleppo and the situation has captured the attention of Kurdistan Region and federal government leaders in neighboring Iraq.

The Iranian-flagged oil tanker Fortune is docked at the El Palito refinery after its arrival to Puerto Cabello in the northern state of Carabobo, Venezuela, on May 25, 2020.

Analysis

Venezuelan crisis unlikely to impact MENA crude exporters in short term

Oil prices inched up on Monday as global oversupply concerns outweighed output disruption fears over the upheaval in Venezuela.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Latest News

Analysis

After Iraq’s election, what are US priorities for next government?

Armoured vehicles of the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Forces are deployed outside the US embassy building in Baghdad's Green Zone on June 12, 2025, after an announcement by a US official the previous day that staff levels at the diplomatic mission in Iraq were being reduced over security concerns. Despite reporting progress in earlier rounds of talks between Iran and the United States, tensions have reached a fever pitch this week as Washington moved non-essential staff from bases in the region following US medi

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

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

Syria seizes anti-aircraft missiles near Iraqi border: What to know

Syria's security directorate in al-Bukamal seized SAM-7 missiles being prepared for smuggling into Iraq, on Dec. 22, 2025.

Analysis

What Turkey wants from Iraq to renew pipeline deal

A worker turns a valve at the Shirawa oil field, where oil was first pumped in Iraq in 1927, outside the northern city of Kirkuk, Jan. 19, 2004.

David O'Byrne

By David O'Byrne

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

Andrew Parasiliti

President and Chief Content Officer

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, national security

Suadad al-Salhy

In Baghdad, reporting on politics and security

Lyse Mauvais

In Amman, reporting on humanitarian crises

Plans to replace Catholic school with mall appalls Iraqis

Al-Aqeeda, a Catholic girls high school built in 1921, is at the center of a controversy highlighting preserving Iraq's cultural heritage.

De-mining teams searches for landmines in the desert east of Basra province, April 1, 2015. In Iraq's vast southern desert, de-mining teams are working to remove millions of Saddam-era landmines and explosive ordnance that litter Iraq's southern giant oil fields, hampering the country's oil boom and delaying investment. Picture taken April 1 2015. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani - GF10000051566

Iran-Iraq War continues to claim lives 30 years on

The eight-year war between Iraq and Iran ended on Aug. 20, 1988, but its negative impacts linger on both sides.

A worker works at Rumaila oil field in Basra, Iraq, November 28, 2017. Picture taken November 28, 2017. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani - RC11679ED480

Basra protests spark government scramble to create jobs

The Iraqi Council of Ministers has approved a regulation requiring that 50% of foreign oil company employees working in the country be Iraqis.

Not everyone in Iraq welcomes peshmerga's possible return to Kirkuk

As Iraq's central and Kurdish governments tentatively make nice again, the potential return of the Kurdish peshmerga to Kirkuk has some groups in the country on edge.

Kurdish farmers hit by water crisis

With neighboring Iran diverting rivers and building dams, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is in the midst of an already severe water crisis that threatens to get even worse, thanks to national and regional governments failing to acknowledge the urgency of the problem.

British Museum returns Iraq's looted antiquities

In a rare move, the British Museum returned eight antiquities, which had been looted from Iraq in 2003, to the country. The objects will be placed at the Iraq Museum.

Turkey kills PKK leader in Sinjar

A Turkish airstrike has killed a senior leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party in Sinjar, to the dismay of the Iraqi Yazidis the group rescued.

Four years after genocide, thousands of Yazidis languish in Turkey

Displaced Yazidis who fled from IS' brutality to Turkey have been languishing in camps and tenements for years, hoping to reach the West. Their departure threatens the survival of one of the Middle East’s oldest religions.

Iran-US conflict leaves Abadi in a dilemma

By rectifying his statement on supporting US sanctions against Iran, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is balancing between the United States and Iran in Iraq to keep both sides as his supportive allies.

New border crossing to create direct Iraq-Turkey link

Ankara and Baghdad have announced plans to open a second border crossing, tightening links between the two countries.

U.S. President Donald Trump holds up the National Defense Authorization Act after signing it in front of soldiers from the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York, U.S., August 13, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RC1992081BA0

Pentagon budget leaves uncertain future for Middle East

President Donald Trump authorized on Monday the Pentagon’s 2019 budget, which will underwrite big upgrades for US weapons systems and troop numbers but leaves an uncertain future for the Pentagon’s operations in the Middle East.

Iraq, Jordan sign security agreement

Iraq and Jordan have signed a security agreement to facilitate trade and travel between the two countries.