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

Iran cover image

Iraq

March 13, 2026

Baghdad 2:21 pm

24°C

Retired Israeli general and executive director of Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies Amos Yadlin attends a session at the Manama Dialogue security conference in the Bahraini capital, on Dec. 5, 2020.

Interview

Yadlin: Israel's war goal to weaken Iran, not immediate regime change

Israeli leaders are aware that Washington will decide when the war ends whether or not Israel has achieved its war aims, Yadlin told Al-Monitor.

Commercial vessels are pictured offshore in Dubai on March 11, 2026. AFP via Getty Images

Oil jumps above $100 as energy crisis called worst in history: What to know

The latest spike is the second time in a week that oil prices have climbed above $100 a barrel.

Fighters lift flags of Iraq and paramilitary groups, including al-Nujaba and Kataib Hezbollah, during a funeral in Baghdad for five militants killed a day earlier in a US strike in northern Iraq, on Dec. 4, 2023.

US warns of kidnapping threat in Iraq as Iran-backed militia hits diplomatic facility

A number of US-related sites have been targeted by Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq, prompting Baghdad to bolster its air defenses.

The sun sets behind burning gas flares at the Dora Oil Refinery Complex in Baghdad on Nov. 24, 2025.

Exclusive

Baghdad, US turn to Iraqi Kurds for oil exports as Iran war hits supplies

Baghdad wants Kurdish pipelines to move up to 200,000 barrels per day to global markets, but Erbil is demanding relief from a dollar embargo and greater autonomy over trade.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Why Israel's looking to Kurds to make gains against Iran regime

Kurdish Peshmerga fighters affiliated with PAK train on Jan. 18, 2026, near Erbil, Iraq.

Analysis

CIA, Mossad bolster Iran’s Kurds as US, Israel seek to ignite military revolt

Osama Al Maqdoni / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Which 6 Kurdish groups could join the war in Iran?

A picture from the formation of the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan on Feb. 22, 2026.

Exclusive

US-backed Kurdish forces poised to enter Iran from Iraqi Kurdistan 'within days'

A member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) participates in a military drill in an outpost near Erbil, Kurdistan region of Iraq on Jan. 15, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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

Suadad al-Salhy

In Baghdad, reporting on politics and security

Lyse Mauvais

In Amman, reporting on humanitarian crises

Winthrop Rodgers

In Sulaymaniyah, reporting on Kurdish issues

Tunisian soldiers stand in front of military equipment offered to Tunisia by the United States, in Tunis, Tunisia, May 12, 2016 REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi - S1BETDRQOCAA

Trump budget spotlights Tunisia in pitch to overhaul foreign military aid

The State Department is dangling potential US aircraft sales to Tunisia as part of its pitch to overhaul foreign military aid.

A general view of Nahr Al-Umran gas refinery in Al-Dier District, northern Basra July 17, 2009. REUTERS/Atef Hassan (IRAQ CONFLICT ENERGY) - GM1E57H1M0K01

Intel: Iraq likely to continue importing Iranian natural gas under US waiver renewal

Iraqi officials have indicated that the United States is likely to renew a key Iran sanctions waiver that will allow Baghdad to continue importing Iranian natural gas to fuel its electricity needs.

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - FEBRUARY 1: (----EDITORIAL USE ONLY â MANDATORY CREDIT - "IRAQI PRESIDENCY PRESS OFFICE / HANDOUT" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS----) Iraq's former communications minister Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi is assigned by Iraq's president Barham Salih to form a new government, in Baghdad, Iraq on February 1, 2020. (Photo by IRAQI PRESIDENCY PRESS OFFICE / HANDOUT/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Will Iraq's new PM pass on forming government?

Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi is under great pressure from the protesters to withdraw from the position, opening the space for a candidate acceptable from all sides.

Sky over Irbil On December 2018, A trip inside Kurdistan, between Irbil and Sulaymaniyya: a Country that is not a State. (Photo by Alessandro Annunziato/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Erbil court acquits pro-polygamy cleric despite women's protests

An Erbil court acquitted a Kurdish cleric who called Kurdish women "dinosaurs."

U.S. soldiers inspect the site where an Iranian missile hit at Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar province, Iraq January 13, 2020. REUTERS/John Davison - RC23FE9R37HE

Intel: Space Force tracked Iranian missile strikes

Members of the Space Force helped track and detect the Iranian ballistic missiles that struck an Iraqi air base last month.

PMU factions reluctant to target US interests in Iraq directly

Following the assassinations of Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Shiite armed factions are reluctant to engage in direct war with the United States due to the lack of military balance between them and their fear of US reactions.

Iraq's outgoing government keeps mum on China pact

Iraq's economic agreement with China was signed in October but its details are still a mystery, providing fodder for conspiracy theories and potential legal objections.

Iraqi Jews in Israel watch protests with hope

Iraqi Jews in Israel see an opportunity for Iraq in the protest movement, a chance for a more tolerant Iraq to emerge from the crisis.

Iraqi protesters demand UN protection from violence of authorities

Iraqi protesters are seeking protection from the United Nations against the violence against them.

University students shout slogans, during ongoing anti-government protests in Kerbala, Iraq January 26, 2020. REUTERS/Abdullah Dhiaa al-Deen - RC2NNE9C338G

Iraqi protests swell despite clash with Sadrist supporters

When their tents were burned, Iraqi protesters replaced them with concrete structures. And when influential cleric Muqtada al-Sadr withdrew his support, even more protesters turned out despite fears of a crackdown by security forces.

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a statement on Iran's missile attacks on U.S.-led forces in Iraq, in the Grand Foyer at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 8, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC2TBE94VPE0

White House sends Congress mixed messages on Iran war votes

President Donald Trump told lawmakers to “vote with their hearts” on war powers legislation, but the White House is playing hardball with Republican defectors.

PMU factions set conditions for next Iraqi prime minister

Some pro-Iran factions of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units are demanding that candidates for prime minister meet their standards.