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Iraq

March 16, 2026

Baghdad 9:18 pm

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CENTCOM: Six killed after US refueling tanker aircraft crashes in Iraq

The KC-135 is the fourth American military aircraft downed since the war against Iran began.

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.

Latest News

Exclusive

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

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

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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.

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

An Iraqi woman casts her vote in Iraq's parliamentary election (ballot-L) and in a postponed Kurdish regional election (ballot-R) in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, on April 30, 2014. Iraqis streamed to voting centres nationwide, amid the worst bloodshed in years, as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki seeks reelection. AFP PHOTO / SAFIN HAMED (Photo credit should read SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images)

Kurdish opposition warns fraud, intimidation to taint upcoming election

As the Iraq Kurdistan Region prepares to hold its parliamentary elections Sept. 30, the opposition is deeply concerned about voter fraud by the two ruling parties.

Leader of the Conquest Coalition and the Iran-backed Shiíite militia Badr Organisation Hadi al-Amiri prepares to casts his vote at a polling station during the parliamentary election in Baghdad, Iraq May 12, 2018. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC1EA048C760

Will US sanctions succeed in isolating Iraqi Shiite factions?

As the United States intensifies its activities against Iran in the region, it has also increased pressure on Iraqi factions backed by Iran. Yet the influence that these factions have in Iraq limits the effects of such pressures.

Iraqi women push for cafes of their own

Iraqi women have started opening women-only cafes and restaurants where they can just avoid harassment.

Iraqi Shi'ite radical leader Muqtada al-Sadr delivers a sermon to worshippers during Friday prayers at the Kufa mosque near Najaf, Iraq September 21, 2018. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani - RC160DC8C560

Powerful Shiite trio agrees on Iraqi prime minister candidate

A Beirut meetup of Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, Hezbollah's Hassan Nasrallah and Iran's Quds Force leader Qasem Soleimani appears to have produced a compromise candidate for Iraq's next prime minister.

Protesters throw documents as they stand on concrete blast walls during an anti-government protest near the burnt building of the government office in Basra, Iraq September 7, 2018. REUTERS/Alaa al-Marjani - RC1B9ABCCF30

Dozens of Basra activists arrested

Shiite militias in Basra arrested dozens of civil rights activists for participating in demonstrations and accused the US Consulate of instigating the demonstrations.

Hashim al-Mousawi, the official spokesman for Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba, speaks during a news conference in Baghdad, Iraq November 23, 2017. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RC18066A05E0

Congress takes aim at pro-Iran election winners in Iraq

US lawmakers are preparing sanctions as Tehran presses Baghdad to form a government friendly to its interests.

A picture taken on March 20, 2018 shows an Airbus plane on the tarmac at the airport in the Iraqi Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah, three months after the lifting of a ban on international flights.
Iraqi authorities had announced on March 13 the lifting of a nearly six-month air blockade imposed on Iraqi Kurdistan in response to its holding of an independence referendum. / AFP PHOTO / SHWAN MOHAMMED (Photo credit should read SHWAN MOHAMMED/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkey extends flight ban to Sulaimaniyah

Turkey seems to be expressing its opposition to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan's candidate for the Iraqi presidency by extending its ban on flights to Sulaimaniyah, but the move may represent the extent of Ankara's influence over political machinations in Baghdad.

Iran's influence continues to shape new Iraqi government

After Iran succeeded in pushing through its preferred candidate for Iraq's parliament speaker, Tehran continued its pressure to secure the position of second deputy speaker, bringing the "score" to 2-0 against the US.

Kurds need to narrow down choices for Iraqi president

The two largest Kurdish political parties in Iraq are likely to agree eventually on a presidential candidate, but in the meantime several hats are in the ring.

Iraqi Shi'ite pilgrims run between the Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas shrines as part of a ritual of the Ashura ceremony in Karbala, Iraq September 20, 2018. REUTERS/Abdullah Dhiaa Al-Deen - RC1A6C155200

Iranians lash out at preferential treatment of pilgrims

While many Iranians have criticized the authorities’ decision to allow visa fees for the Arbaeen pilgrimage to be paid at the secondary foreign currency market rate, the move could, in reality, be filling the administration’s coffers.

Backlash in Iraq over chants glamorizing Saddam in Algeria

Praising former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein during a soccer match between Iraq and Algeria has angered Iraqis and is affecting the diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Iran pursues opposition by bombing Iraqi Kurdistan

Tehran is expanding its influence in Iraq, taking a tougher stance against its exiled Kurdish opposition in Iraqi Kurdistan.