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Iraq

January 17, 2026

Baghdad 9:58 pm

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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

A general view shows Turkish flags fluttering at a military post in the village of Ashma in the Kurdish region of Kobane in northern Syria on November 8, 2018. - In recent days, cross-border Turkish artillery fire has targeted positions held by the People's Protection Units (YPG), the main Kurdish militia in Syria. Ankara sees the de-facto autonomous rule set up by Syrian Kurds as an encouragement to the separatists of the Turkey-based Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has close ties to the YPG. (Photo

US official speaks out against possible Turkish offensive in Syria

After Iraqi Kurdistan-backed Rojava Peshmerga are sent to the Turkish-Syrian border, Turkish officials inveigh against the action and what it represents.

US genocide law triggers mixed feelings among Iraqis

US President Donald Trump has signed legislation calling for greater support for religious minorities victimized by the Islamic State.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Yazidi activist Nadia Murad gestures while talking to people during her visit to Sinjar, Iraq December 14, 2018. REUTERS/Ari Jalal - RC19D80529C0

Sinjar road reconnects estranged Yazidis and Kurds with Baghdad

The opening of a strategic road in Iraq's Kurdistan Region — closed since the Kurds' ill-fated independence referendum in September 2017 — could be a prelude to a reset in ties between Erbil and Baghdad.

HOUSTON, TX - NOVEMBER 2: President George H.W. Bush giving a speech in Houston, Texas November 2, 1992. (Photo by David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images)

Do Iraqis consider George Bush a liberator or oppressor?

Iraqis have different opinions about the late President George Bush, as some praise him for attacking the dictator Saddam Hussein, and some slam him for the devastating sanctions he imposed on Iraq.

Kurdish demonstrators hold flags during a protest demanding the release of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan, in Sulaimaniyah, Iraq February 16, 2018. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed - RC1EA9AA5C90

Iraqi Kurdistan bans pro-PKK party amid Turkish pressure

Turkey exerted its political and economic pressure on Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government to close the headquarters of political parties that share the ideology of the Kurdistan Workers Party.

Syrians wave Iranian, Russian and Syrian flags during a protest against U.S.-led air strikes in Damascus,Syria April 14,2018.REUTERS/ Omar Sanadiki TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC1815671B90

Does the US want a war with Iran over Syria?

Despite Trump’s initial caution about an indefinite military commitment, the risks of the United States getting drawn into the Syria conflict are growing.

Mosul's new literary cafe brings together readers, budding writers

With its walls lined with books in Arabic, English, French, Spanish and Russian, Book Forum cafe provides a place for Mosul's youth to read, debate and smoke the hookah.

A woman poses in a group photo with a wooden cut-out depicting the ringstone symbol of the Baha'i faith during a carnival commemorating International Minority Rights Day in the southern Iraqi city of Basra on December 16, 2017. (Photo by HAIDAR MOHAMMED ALI / AFP) (Photo credit should read HAIDAR MOHAMMED ALI/AFP/Getty Images)

Iraqi official denies Bahaism as religion

An Iraqi official's statement against the Baha'i religion raises concerns of Baha'is and other religious minorities in Iraq.

Why has illiteracy rate gone up in Iraq?

As the Iraqi government has failed to improve the education sector, the illiteracy rate has increased significantly in different parts of the country.

A general view of a crude oil importing port in Qingdao, Shandong province, in this November 9, 2008 file photo. REUTERS/Stringer/Files ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. CHINA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN CHINA - GF10000374046

Asia buoys Iran as US sanctions hit

Iran is still selling considerable quantities of oil to China, Japan, India and South Korea thanks to US waivers and other mechanisms to circumvent sanctions.

Businesspeople intervene in bitter ties between Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan

Turkish businesspeople have launched a campaign to restore ties between Turkey and the Kurdistan Regional Government, which were hit hard last year after Kurdistan's independence referendum.

Baghdad policewomen's roles expand as they rise in ranks

As more women join Iraqi police forces and become more visible on the streets, they believe the public — and their colleagues — will become more accepting.