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Iraq

January 17, 2026

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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

Islamic State families fear persecution in Iraq

Al-Monitor visited families of Islamic State members being held in isolation in the Shahama camp, near Tikrit. They and aid workers fear what will happen to them if they are unable to rejoin communities outside the camp.

A member of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces stands guard as smoke rises after an attack at Bai Hassan oil station, northwest of Kirkuk, Iraq, July 31, 2016. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed - RTSKFGY

Kirkuk’s oil to play big role in Kurdish independence

The post-Islamic State era will be crucial for Kirkuk, as conflicts over the governorate's territory and oil will determine the future of relations between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government.

People sit in the back of a truck as they celebrate what they said was the liberation of villages from Islamist rebels near the city of Ras al-Ain in the province of Hasakah, after capturing it from Islamist rebels November 6, 2013. Redur Xelil, spokesman for the armed wing of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), said Kurdish militias had seized the city of Ras al-Ain and all its surrounding villages. Syrian Kurdish fighters have captured more territory from Islamist rebels in northeastern Syria

Ankara looks beyond Raqqa offensive for fate of northern Syria

The Turkish government is worried about how the Democratic Union Party will transform northern Syria once the Islamic State is defeated in Raqqa.

Kurdish fighters from the Popular Protection Units (YPG) man a checkpoint near the city of Afrin, which is under the control of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), April 30, 2014. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hebbo (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR3NB2H

Kurdish cantons in northern Syria already linked

One of the most heated issues of the Syrian war has been the possibility of Kurdish cantons connecting, overcoming Turkey’s threatening objections. And now, with the Aleppo road open, Kurdish cantons are connected for the first time in four years.

Kurdish Regional Government President Masoud Barzani speaks to the media during his visits in the town of Bashiqa, after it was recaptured from the Islamic State, east of Mosul, Iraq, November 16, 2016. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RTX2TYYB

Iraqi Kurdistan faces many obstacles to independence referendum

Amid a strong regional disagreement, Iraqi Kurdistan is insisting on holding a referendum on independence in the fall.

Tehran, Washington set for proxy clash on Syrian-Iraqi border

Due to its strategic position and impact on the future of Syria, the Iraqi-Syrian border is likely to be the site of a new conflict between the allies of Washington and Tehran soon after the Mosul operation concludes.

Interview

Syrian rebel commander: 150 US troops at al-Tanf base

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Lt. Col. Muhannad al-Talla, the commander of Maghawir al-Thawra, speaks of the role of the US-led coalition at al-Tanf military base, which is close to the border between Jordan, Syria and Iraq.

Muhannad al-Talla

Muhannad al-Talla

Commander of Maghawir al-Thawra

A man walks across a street in Qaraqosh, east of Mosul, Iraq November 25, 2016. Picture taken November 25, 2016. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic - RTSTT8A

Ex-Islamic State fighters face justice in Mosul

Iraq establishes a special court in Ninevah province to address a large number of terrorist cases related to former Islamic State fighters.

An Iraqi man sits in front to a closed liquor store in Ainkawa, a majority Christian area in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, on October 13, 2015.
/ AFP / SAFIN HAMED (Photo credit should read SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images)

Residents of Iraqi Kurdistan stock up on spirits as Ramadan kicks off

Due to the Kurdish region's policy of closing liquor shops during the fasting month of Ramadan, the prices of alcohol on the black market go up, raising the question, especially by Christians, why they have to be penalized by a secular government.

Members of the Iraqi rapid response forces and the Iraqi Federal Police move between their vehicles during clashes with Islamic State fighters in western Mosul, Iraq May 27, 2017. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis - RTX37V1V

Iraqi forces advance from north ahead of ‘extremely violent’ fight

As the Iraqi joint forces launched an operation to capture the last Islamic State-held enclave in Mosul, the fight is getting harder and putting civilians at risk.

Iran follows Russia’s lead in backing Syria safe zones

Russia’s proposal legitimates Iranian military role in Syria; supreme leader hails victory for "Islamic democracy"; Turkish intervention in Sinjar could disrupt Mosul liberation plans; Egypt’s media crackdown.

An Iraqi woman collects grass with a canoe in the Chibayish marshes near the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah on June 25, 2015. Marsh areas in southern Iraq have been affected since the Islamic State group started closing the gates of a dam on the Euphrates River in the central city of Ramadi, which is under the jihadist group's control. AFP PHOTO / HAIDAR HAMDANI (Photo credit should read HAIDAR HAMDANI/AFP/Getty Images)

Iraq fears famed marshes could be pulled from World Heritage List

Amid serious concern about the violations against Iraq’s marshes, it is possible the marshes will be removed from the World Heritage List.