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Iraq

January 20, 2026

Baghdad 2:48 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

Lieutenant General Abdelwahab al-Saadi speaks during an interview with Reuters in Falluja, Iraq, June 20, 2016. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RTX2H7ML

Security trench around Fallujah leaves residents feeling trapped

The Iraqi government is digging a trench to protect Fallujah, but the idea is raising concerns that civilians will end up isolated from the rest of the country.

Residents and Iraqi security forces inspect the site where a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest at the entrance to Kadhimiya, a mostly Shi'ite Muslim district in northwest Baghdad, Iraq July 24, 2016. REUTERS/Khalid al Mousily - RTSJDJ7

Kadhimiya and Adhamiya, symbols of Iraqi sectarianism

Baghdad's Kadhimiya and Adhamiya suburbs face each other on opposite sides of the Tigris and also reflect the sectarian division from which Iraq suffers.

Iraq's Vice President Nouri al-Maliki (L) and new Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi shake hands during the session to approve the new government in Baghdad, September 8, 2014.Iraq's parliament approved a new government headed by Haider al-Abadi as prime minister on Monday night, in a bid to rescue Iraq from collapse, with sectarianism and Arab-Kurdish tensions on the rise. REUTERS/Hadi Mizban/Pool (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR45G35

Is Maliki plotting return to power with Kurdistan visit?

Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's visit to Sulaimaniyah has sparked rumors of his hopes of regaining the premiership.

Shi'ite fighters from Saraya al-Salam, who are loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, gather in the holy city of Najaf before heading to the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit to continue the offensive against Islamic State militants March 20, 2015. Iraq's most important Shi'ite religious leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, called on Friday for greater professionalism and planning by government forces and allied militias in fighting Islamic State insurgents. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani - RTR4U6EW

Abadi moves to demilitarize Iraq's cities

Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi has instructed the Interior Ministry to take measures to remove signs of militarization from Iraqi cities.

Members of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) attend a news conference to announce the final results of the parliamentary election in Baghdad May 19, 2014. Prime Minister Nouri Maliki won the largest share of Iraqi parliamentary seats in last month's national elections, dealing a blow to Shi?ite, Sunni and Kurdish rivals who opposed his serving a third term. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: ELECTIONS POLITICS) - RTR3PUN0

Demand for reform reaches Iraq's electoral commission

A group of Iraqi parliamentarians wants to dissolve the Independent High Electoral Commission, but no satisfactory mechanism for selecting a new commission has been offered.

Members of al Qaeda's Nusra Front ride on a tank as they head towards their positions during an offensive to take control of the northwestern city of Ariha from forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, in Idlib province May 28, 2015. The Syrian army has pulled back from the northwestern city of Ariha after a coalition of insurgent groups seized the last city in Idlib province in northwestern Syria near the Turkish border that was still held by the government. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah - RTR4XXNO

Al-Qaeda affiliate’s desperate 'switch' validates US Syria policy

Fear of US and Russian airstrikes on eve of Syrian offensive a sign that Jabhat al-Nusra may be feeling the heat; Turkey’s de-Gulenification campaign in context; retired Saudi general probes Israeli commitment to peace settlement.

Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is seen during a protest against corruption at Tahrir Square in Baghdad, July 15, 2016. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani - RTSI1H7

Iraq's civil movement breaks away from Sadr protests

Civil society is stretching its own wings to wrestle the Iraqi civil movement away from the control of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr through the formation of new groups distancing themselves from the Sadr alliances.

A Bedouin rides a camel in the desert between Anbar and Kerbala February 24, 2015. Picture taken February 24, 2015. REUTERS/Mushtaq Muhammed (IRAQ - Tags: SOCIETY ANIMALS) - RTR4R25N

Even camels struggle to survive in war-torn, dry Iraq

The camel population in Iraq is dwindling as traditional camel herders are forced to settle in one place and grazing areas are consumed by development and drought.

De-mining teams searches for landmines in Rumaila oilfield in Basra province, April 2, 2016. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani - RTSD9ED

Can Iraq overcome its land mine infestation?

Efforts to rid Iraqi Kurdistan of millions of land mines are being hampered by financial problems, corruption and the Islamic State's tenacity in planting more mines.

Iraqi defence minister Khaled al-Obeidi (2nd L) visits a training camp for Kurdish peshmerga troops in Arbil, November 3, 2014. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR4COAG

Baghdad-Erbil bickering overshadows Mosul battle

Since the Iraqi central government excluded the Kurdistan Regional Government from a meeting for the anti-IS coalition in Washington, tension has been escalating between Baghdad and the Kurds, who stressed that they will not leave areas in Ninevah liberated from IS.

Displaced Iraqi children, who fled from Falluja because of Islamic State violence, pose for photographer during a dust storm at a refugee camp in Ameriyat Falluja, south of Falluja, Iraq, June 16, 2016. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad - RTX2GM7G

How will Iraq handle its surging population?

Despite Iraq's growing population, the government does not seem to have plans in place to contain the rise, develop employment and expand cities.

Iraqi Ambassador to the US Lukman Faily looks on during a ceremony to repatriate more than 60 Iraqi cultural items which had been smuggled into the US at the Iraqi consulate in Washington, DC, on March 16, 2015. AFP PHOTO/NICHOLAS KAMM (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

Iraqi envoy quit over failure to prevent IS 'tragedies'

Ambassador Lukman Faily bemoans missed opportunities to head off the Islamic State early on and elaborates on his post-diplomatic plans in an exit interview with Al-Monitor.