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Iraq

January 15, 2026

Baghdad 7:36 am

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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.

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.

Analysis

Venezuelan crisis unlikely to impact MENA crude exporters in short term

Oil prices inched up on Monday as global oversupply concerns outweighed output disruption fears over the upheaval in Venezuela.

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

Latest News

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.

Analysis

What Turkey wants from Iraq to renew pipeline deal

A worker turns a valve at the Shirawa oil field, where oil was first pumped in Iraq in 1927, outside the northern city of Kirkuk, Jan. 19, 2004.

David O'Byrne

By David O'Byrne

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

Female entrepreneurs fight crisis by reviving heritage

Female entrepreneurs from Iraq, Palestine and Egypt show that hardship does not always impede creativity, particularly when you build on your country's artistic heritage.

Islamic State in Iraq is not over yet

Several terrorist attacks have occurred over the last several days across Iraq, raising concerns over a resurgence of the Islamic State.

Iraq electricity minister: US will continue exemptions for Iranian electricity imports

Iraqi Minister of Electricity Luay al-Khatteeb told Al-Monitor that US exemptions in the energy sector will continue amid tensions in US-Iran relations.

Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr speaks during a news conference with Leader of the Conquest Coalition and the Iran-backed Shi'ite militia Badr Organisation Hadi al-Amiri, in Najaf, Iraq June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Alaa al-Marjani - RC1820CC66C0

Iraqi parties lack democracy and transparency

Iraqi democracy is run by groups of nondemocratic political parties, raising concerns over the sustainability of democracy in Iraq.

Iraqi Shi'ite Muslims march during a parade marking the annual al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day) on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Baghdad, Iraq May 31, 2019. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani - RC1C93970790

Pro-Iran events fizzle as Iraqis steer clear of regional drama

Iraqis are making it clear that they want no part in the regional conflict surrounding Iran while their leaders offer mediation to avoid war.

A member of the oil police force guards the entrance of the West Qurna-1 oil field, which is operated by Exxon Mobil, near Basra, Iraq, May 20, 2019. Picture taken May 20, 2019. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani - RC17690F9600

Iraq’s oil sector caught in crossfire between US, Iran

US-Iran tensions have hit Iraq's oil industry, with ExxonMobil announcing an evacuation of its staff in Iraq to Dubai.

Who is really behind torching of Iraqi grain fields?

The setting afire of grain fields in disputed areas between Baghdad and Erbil flames ethnic tensions between Arabs and Kurds.

Demonstrators wave Turkish and Iraqi Turkmen (blue) flags during a protest against the independence referendum in northern Iraq, in Istanbul, Turkey, September 17, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC1F65EFDC90

Ankara backs some Turkmens in Iraqi politics, shuns others

By ostracizing Turkmen politicians who supported the 2017 independence referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan, Turkey could be shooting itself in the foot.

A foreign wife of Islamic State militants holds her child at Hammam Al-Alil camp in south of Mosul, Iraq September 13, 2017. Picture taken September 13, 2017. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RC1F166AB320

Intel: Turkey, Iraq to decide fate of 'Islamic State children'

After decades, Iran, Iraq ready to dredge the Shatt al-Arab

Iran and Iraq hope to revive the Shatt al-Arab as a source of clean water as well as a generator of increased commerce and tourism.

Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani speaks during a news conference after casting his vote, during parliamentary elections in the semi-autonomous region in Erbil, Iraq September 30, 2018. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RC1904E48690

Intel: How Iraq’s Kurds are failing to come together over their new president

Flames emerge from flare stacks at the oil fields in Kirkuk, Iraq October 18, 2017. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani - RC15269F5E00

Oil dispute reignites Baghdad-Erbil tensions

Baghdad and Erbil's relations have largely normalized following the Kurdistan Regional Government's failed independence referendum in 2017. However, the Kurdish failure to commit to the federal budget law risks tarnishing those relations.