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Iraq

January 17, 2026

Baghdad 1:08 am

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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

Recovered artifacts are seen at the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad July 15, 2015. The U.S. handed back to Iraq on Wednesday antiquities it said it had seized in a raid on Islamic State fighters in Syria, saying the haul was proof the militants were funding their war by smuggling ancient treasures. The Iraqi relics were captured by U.S. special forces in an operation in May against an Islamic State commander known as Abu Sayyaf. They included ancient cylindrical stamps, pottery, metallic bracelets and ot

Iraq eager to get back antiquities smuggled to US

Iraq is diligently working to recover relics from the United States that were looted from Iraqi archaeological sites.

Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Iraqi Vice President Nuri al-Maliki during their meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, July 25, 2017. Sputnik/Alexei Nikolsky/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RTX3CTS4

Maliki’s visit to Moscow reflects many facets

Iraq’s vice president may have had upcoming elections and Iranian influence in mind when he visited Moscow recently.

Brett McGurk, U.S. envoy to the coalition against Islamic State, speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan, November 6, 2016. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed - RTX2S6NC

Ankara decries ‘provocative’ remarks by US anti-IS envoy

Turkey continues to be concerned about the relationship between the United States and the Syrian Kurds.

Disputed territories pose major challenge to Kurdish referendum

The upcoming Iraqi Kurdistan’s referendum will include the disputed territories, but given the practical and technical challenges, holding the referendum on Sept. 25 will be highly unlikely.

Iraq oil pipeline comes with major environmental costs

A gas pipeline that runs from Iran to the suburbs of Baghdad has caused environmental pollution and damaged agricultural land and archaeological sites in local areas.

A Peshmerga fighter stands next graffiti of the Islamic State (IS) group flag on a wall in Zummar city in the northern Iraqi Governorate of Nineveh on December 18, 2014, as they continue to battle Islamic State group fighters near the border with Syria. Kurdish forces backed up by US-led warplanes have recaptured a large area in Iraq near the Syrian border in an offensive this week against Islamic State jihadists, a US commander said. AFP PHOTO / SAFIN HAMED (Photo credit should read SAFIN HAMED/AFP/

Arab Sunni areas of Iraq see demands to join Kurdistan Region

The secessionist wing in Iraqi Kurdistan is working on using demands from some Sunni Arabs to join the region to support the upcoming referendum and independence.

A Yazidi boy, twelve year-old Imad Tammo rescued from Islamic State militants by the Iraqi army, is seen in Sina neighbourhood outside of Duhok, Iraq July 25, 2017. REUTERS/Ari Jalal - RTX3CVCQ

Yazidi boys forced to fight for IS still need psychological help

Hundreds of Yazidi boys indoctrinated by the Islamic State have managed to escape, but without professional treatment, their trauma continues.

With Islamic State gone, barbers are busy in Mosul

Mosul barbers, whose profession was outlawed during the Islamic State's rule, are becoming popular again in the newly freed city.

Appearances get people killed in Iraq

Several Iraqis have been killed or received death threats recently because they are gay, "look gay" or in some way don't meet extremists' religious mandates.

Iraqi Shiite fighters from the Popular Mobilization units ride on the back of a vehicle in the city of Baiji, north of Tikrit, in the Salahaddin province, on June 7, 2015. Iraqi forces advanced against the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group in Baiji as they battled to retake the strategic town for a second time. AFP PHOTO / AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images)

Engaging with PMU necessary to check Iran's influence in Iraq

To those concerned about Iran’s role in post-Islamic State Iraq, there might be no choice but to engage with Tehran’s allies to balance the expansion of the Islamic Republic’s reach.

Iraqi soldiers look out from a tank as they advances towards the Islamic State militants positions in the Old City in western Mosul, Iraq June 18, 2017. REUTERS/Erik De Castro - RTS17JOV

Iraqi forces keep up fight for strategic areas south of Mosul

Despite its recent losses, the Islamic State was able to temporarily retake some liberated areas such as the village of Imam Gharbi, cutting the key highway between Qayyarah and Shirqat for weeks.

Smoke rises from an air strike during fighting with Islamic State militants in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad - RTX3ABKI

With IS on the way out, Iraqi power struggles pose major threat

As Iraq struggles to contain pockets of Islamic State resistance following the liberation of Mosul, political differences and a power struggle between domestic groups threaten more conflict.