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Iraq

January 16, 2026

Baghdad 12:21 pm

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From Egypt to Lebanon: What’s at stake for regional states on Trump’s visa ban list?

The State Department claimed that citizens from the affected countries are more likely to use social welfare services at a high rate.

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.

Latest News

Analysis

Venezuelan crisis unlikely to impact MENA crude exporters in short term

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.

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

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.

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

A member of the Iraqi Kurdish security forces stands guard next to the car of Mohammed Younis, a senior official of Iraq's state-run North Gas Company (NGC) who was killed by gunmen, in the northern oil city of Kirkuk, Iraq, May 2, 2017. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC1FC8168D00

Kirkuk teetering on brink of war

The planned Kurdish referendum has divided the main ruling Kurdish party in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, raising tension in the city and threatening to undermine the delicate and fragile cohesion that exists in the multi-ethnic city.

Sectarianism in Iraq peaks ahead of Kurdistan referendum

With the Kurdistan independence referendum just days away, politicians and the general public are fanning sectarian tension on both sides of the vote.

Court backs Baghdad by stalling Kurdish referendum

The Baghdad government has several legal, economic and military options to prevent the Kurdistan region from conducting an independence referendum that is opposed by most regional and global powers.

A man reads a copy of the magazine "Israel-Kurd" at a street in Arbil, 310 km (190 miles) north of Baghdad August 16, 2009. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari (IRAQ SOCIETY) - GM1E58H06K201

How Israel's support is swaying Kurdish sentiment ahead of referendum

Turkey’s Kurds may have divergent views on Israeli backing for the referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan, but their support for the independence bid remains robust.

International artists explore fragmented Middle East in Istanbul

The 2017 Istanbul Biennial asks what makes a good neighbor in a world plagued by war, repression and division.

Turkish military sends anti-referendum message with exercises across border

Ankara is trying to tell its neighbors something with its massive military exercise across the border from Iraqi Kurdistan as the Kurdish Regional Government's independence referendum nears.

(LtoR) Turkey's Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini give a joint press conference following the EU-Turkey High Level Political Dialogue meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels on July 25, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / JOHN THYS (Photo credit should read JOHN THYS/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkish FM says KRG referendum 'big mistake'

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks about the upcoming independence vote in Iraqi Kurdistan, Turkish-EU relations and expanding cooperation with Russia.

Iraqi Kurdistan's young sportsmen put on gloves

Fighters from all over Iraq and Lebanon compete in the first mixed martial arts tournament in Erbil.

TOPSHOT - A Syriac Christian militiaman stands guard on top of a building during an easter ceremony at the Saint John's church (Mar Yohanna) in the nearly deserted predominantly Christian Iraqi town of Qaraqosh (also known as Hamdaniya), some 30 kilometres from Mosul, on April 16, 2017.
Qaraqosh was retaken by Iraqi forces late in 2016 as part of a massive offensive to wrest back the nearby city of Mosul from Islamic State (IS) group fighters but it remains almost completely deserted.
/ AFP PHOTO / CHRIST

Congress fuels Christian rivalries with bid to arm Iraqi militias

A House effort to arm Iraqi Christian militias risks making an already tense standoff in the Ninevah Plains even worse.

Iraqi farmers fight against imported goods, corruption

The Iraqi market is flooded with foreign agricultural and food products, which affects local farmers and food producers.

Sectarian forces fight for influence in Iraq's Diyala province

After being liberated from the Islamic State, the Diyala province is suffering from increased ethnic, sectarian and political conflicts that could turn into armed clashes at any moment.

A member of an Iraqi unit searches for bombs and mines near the site of an explosion in the city of Mosul, Iraq March 19, 2017. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal - RC11A0823EB0

US faces WWII-scale explosives cleanup in Iraq after Islamic State fight

Cleaning up the booby traps that IS fighters have left all over the country will take many years and millions of dollars.