Iraq - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Iran cover image

Iraq

January 19, 2026

Baghdad 4:07 pm

15°C

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

Iraq’s technocrat ministers under threat

Recently elected Iraqi independent, technocrat ministers face threats from militants without having adequate support from the political parties.

An exterior view of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters is seen in Washington July 1, 2015. Greece's last-minute overtures to international creditors for financial aid on Tuesday were not enough to save the country from becoming the first developed economy to default on a loan with the International Monetary Fund. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTX1IO51

What's the status of IMF loan as Iraq dismisses finance minister?

The International Monetary Fund has granted a $3 billion loan to Iraq; however, parliament and the government have not yet reached an agreement over the loan conditions.

A man walks at a destroyed building at the site of a blast caused by a fire at a weapons storage in eastern Baghdad, Iraq, September 2, 2016. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad - RTX2NV19

Abadi orders weapons caches out of Baghdad in wake of deadly blast

In the wake of a horrific explosion at a weapons cache site that killed four people, Iraq's prime minister has ordered that arms depots be removed from residential areas in Baghdad and other cities.

Decline of higher education in Iraq continues

Despite several recent achievements, Iraq's universities still suffer from poor management, corruption and sectarianism.

Iraqi security forces and Shi'ite paramilitary fighters hold an Islamist State flag, which they pulled down in Tikrit, March 31, 2015. Iraqi troops aided by Shi'ite paramilitaries and Sunni tribal fighters have reached the center of Tikrit after securing the Sunni city's southern and western sections from Islamic State militants, Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi said on Tuesday. "Our security forces have reached the center of Tikrit and they have liberated the southern and western sides and they are moving to

Attacks spark fears that Iraq's 'liberated areas' aren't free of IS

Islamic State fighters are still launching attacks against Iraq’s security forces in the liberated areas, indicating that there are still some IS enclaves and cells present on the edges of the cities.

Military vehicles of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces are seen on the southeast of Mosul , Iraq, August 14, 2016. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RTX2KRSN

Iraqis already arguing over land they haven't yet freed from IS

As efforts advance to liberate Mosul, the capital of Ninevah province, disputes are brewing over proposals to divide up the governorate.

Shiite Muslim pilgrims gather in front of the shrine of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, on Arafah day, referring to a prayer performed by Shiites in Saudi Arabia's Arafat plain on the second day of hajj, on September 11, 2016 in the holy city of Karbala, 80 kilometres south of the capital Baghdad.
Barred from Mecca amid an escalating spat between Tehran and Saudi Arabia, masses of Iranian Shiite faithful have converged on the holy Iraqi city of Karbala for an alternative pilgrimage. The r

Will Iranian pilgrims forsake Mecca for Karbala?

Iran and Saudi Arabia are expanding the conflict over Islamic religious sites as they continue to exploit religion for their political interests.

Alain Le Roy, under-secretary-general for Peacekeeping Operations at the United Nations, looks on in a helicopter during his visit at the Golf Hotel, headquarters of Alassane Ouattara, in Abidjan December 27, 2010, where a detachment of UNOCI peacekeepers provides security. An election meant to resolve Ivory Coast's decade-long political crisis has resulted in two rivals claiming the presidency, with incumbent Laurent Gbagbo defying world pressure to hand over to Ouattara. The standoff has killed more than

Veteran French diplomat: EU should play greater role in resolving Syria crisis

French diplomat Alain Le Roy discusses the European Union's "unstable" and "insecure" borders and its greater challenge of resolving the crisis in Syria.

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 struggles to stop antiquities smuggling

Iraq has managed to recover some smuggled antiquities, but illegal excavations and the theft of ancient artifacts continue.

Yazidi refugee women stand behind a banner as they wait for the arrival of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Special Envoy Angelina Jolie at a Syrian and Iraqi refugee camp in the southern Turkish town of Midyat in Mardin province, Turkey, June 20, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX1HE42

Why Iraq's Yazidis are upset over new film depicting IS massacres

Women who suffered at the hand of the Islamic State are now being subjected to further humiliation, in the opinion of the Yazidi community, which is protesting a film on the topic that they say is inaccurate and misleading.

Why did Iraq's Shiite National Alliance choose new leader?

After longtime disagreements, the Shiite National Alliance elects Ammar al-Hakim, the head of the Islamic Supreme Council, as president of the alliance, to revive and reorganize it.

Iraqi guards stand in front of the Ministry of Defence during a visit from U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, in Baghdad December 9, 2014. U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel arrived in Baghdad on Tuesday as the United States expands its presence and touts progress against Islamic State militants four months after starting a campaign of air strikes in Iraq. REUTERS/Mark Wilson/Pool (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR4HCSE

Who will replace sacked Iraqi defense minister?

Following the dismissal of Iraq's Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi by the parliament, the Sunni blocs are competing over nominating his successor.