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Iraq

September 20, 2026

Baghdad 11:12 am

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Explainer

From Maysan to Saudi Arabia, drone attack puts Iraqi province under scrutiny

Officials have been removed but worsening problems need to be addressed in militia stronghold bordering Iran, local residents and observers say.

A man walks past a mural depicting oil pumps and the Venezuelan flag, with portraits of Venezuelan independence leader Simon Bolivar (L) and former late President Hugo Chavez (R), in Caracas, Venezuela, on Sept. 3, 2026.

Analysis

Could Trump’s oil push in Venezuela upend OPEC’s energy order?

Washington’s growing role in controlling the Latin American country's crude riches could help reshape an energy order centered on OPEC as the Hormuz crisis pressures Gulf exports.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

After gun found in lake, French police probe link to 2012 Iraqi family murder

A recently discovered Luger pistol may have been used in the mysterious 2012 killing of the al-Hilli family near the Alpine town of Chevaline in eastern France.

AFP via Getty Images

Iraq sentences kidnapper of US journalist Shelly Kittleson to 15 years: What to know

The first sentencing in relation to Shelly Kittleson’s abduction comes as Iraq moves to rein in Iran-backed militias.

Latest News

Iraq reinforces Saudi border security amid militia tensions: What to know

Iraqi army troops patrol the Iraq-Saudi Arabia border

Iraq summons Iran envoy over 'Persian Gulf' post, Baghdad name origins: What to know

Fred TANNEAU / AFP via Getty Images

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

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades attend a signing ceremony following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia October 24, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Chirikov/Pool - UP1EDAO1A9A8U

How Russian business could shape Mideast's future security architecture

Russia has been engaged in the Levantine oil and gas sectors for some time, but now Moscow could use that foothold to help build lasting security in the region.

US hits back at Iran in Iraq as tensions rise

The United States is targeting pro-Iranian politicians and militants in Iraq.

US Army special forces sit on top of their Humvees as they secure
important ground in the south of the city of Najaf in central Iraq,
March 23, 2003. US infantry and engineers secured the ground after
heavy gun fires with Iraqi soldiers during the night. REUTERS/Kai
Pfaffenbach REUTERS

KP/FMS - RP3DRINFAQAA

Special Forces face down impacts of war on terror

The Pentagon’s Special Operations Command is planning to study the impacts of the 17-year war on terror in the Middle East on the force.

USS Boxer (LHD-4) ship sails in the Arabian Sea off Oman July 17, 2019. Picture taken July 17, 2019. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah - RC1501922130

Intel: US drone shootdown sparks more Gulf tension

US President Donald Trump said today that the United States destroyed an Iranian drone that came within 1,000 yards of an American vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. Defense officials told CNN the drone was brought down today by electronic jamming.

PM Shtayyeh discovers genuine love for Palestine in Iraq

The state visit by a Palestinian delegation headed by Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh to Iraq appears to have produced a number of economic and political breakthroughs that will contribute to Palestinian economic independence.

Kurdish security members stand guard near a restaurant where Turkish diplomats and Turkish consulate employee were killed in Erbil, Iraq July 17, 2019. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RC15FE0B8D60

Gunmen kill Turkish diplomat in Erbil

A restaurant shooting that left a Turkish diplomat and an Iraqi civilian dead has regional leaders rushing to Erbil to manage the fallout.

A general a view of the Rumaila oil field in Basra, Iraq, November 28, 2017. Picture taken November 28, 2017. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani - RC13A041D7F0

Iraq plans to launch pipelines to export oil through Jordan, Syria

Iraq plans to diversify its oil exports via new pipelines through Jordan and Syria.

Sunnis accuse Shiites of expanding influence in Mosul

Sunnis in the city of Mosul are disappointed about the growing Shiite influence in the city following the liberation from the Islamic State.

Palestinian workers clear the rubble of a school that witnesses said was destroyed by Israeli shelling during the most recent conflict between Israel and Hamas, in the east of Gaza City December 3, 2014. According to housing minister Mufeed al-Hasayna, Gaza needs 8,000 tonnes of cement a day to meet demand. A new system set up with the United Nations to comply with Israeli requirements lets through at most 2,000, he said. At that rate, reconstruction would take more than 30 years, said Hasayna, one of four

Gaza constructors to work in Arab countries

The Palestinian Contractors Union has convinced Arab markets to employ Palestinian contractors, amid the regressing construction sector in the Gaza Strip.

Iraq's diversity institute combats religious stereotypes and hate speech

A new Iraqi institute aims to change the country's discourse toward minorities through educational curricula designed by religious minorities.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 25: The President of Iraq, Barham Salih meets with UK Prime Minister, Theresa May (unseen) at 10 Downing Street on June 25, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Chris J Ratcliffe - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Traps abound as Iraq charts independent course based on ‘national vision’

Iraq's new foreign policy vision promotes noninterference and economic integration; Turkey's bombing of PKK sites in Iraq's Qandil Mountains tests Baghdad's resolve.

Artists persevere in Iraq despite death threats

Iraqi artists of all stripes face pressures from religious extremists but they refuse to be cowed and continue holding cultural events.