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Iraq

March 19, 2026

Baghdad 7:10 am

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A view of the oil refinery on March 17, 2026 in Erbil, Iraq.

Exclusive

Iraqi oil flows to Turkey after US pledges role in Baghdad-Kurds customs dispute

A US-brokered breakthrough between Baghdad and Erbil has restarted Iraqi oil exports through Turkey after a weeklong standoff.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

A picture shows smoke billowing from the Central Production Facility 1 gas refinery in Iraq's southern Maysan province on May 29, 2022.

Exclusive

Dana Gas evacuates Khor Mor staff in Iraq's Kurdistan Region after Iran threats

Tehran has warned it will target Gulf oil and gas facilities following Israel's strike on South Pars.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

An Iraqi oil tanker waits at the Khawr Abd Allah canal leading up to Al-Faw port in southern Iraq, on June 6, 2024.

Desperate to sell its oil, Iraq turns to Turkey amid standoff with Kurds

As Iraq looks to reroute oil to Turkey, Baghdad is also using the plan to push the Iraqi Kurds to greenlight exports through their territory.

Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

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.

Latest News

Interview

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

Turkey hopes to pounce on big piece of Mosul reconstruction

Despite their government's past gaffes, Turkish firms want, even expect, substantial contracts to help rebuild Iraq's Mosul, which was reduced to rubble during the long battle to exorcise the Islamic State.

A member of Peshmerga forces shows his ink-stained finger during Kurds independence referendum in Sheikh Amir village, Iraq September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RC19A8F11230

What's next after Kurdish independence vote?

Millions in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region voted in today's independence referendum, despite threats by Iraq, Turkey, Iran and the United States.

Iran reacts to Kurdish referendum

The Iraqi Kurdistan referendum on independence received top coverage in Iranian media, drawing condemnation from both sides of Iran's political sphere.

A Turkish soldier points as he stands on a tank during a military exercise near the Turkish-Iraqi border in Silopi, Turkey, September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC1DFB08C2A0

Turkey's threats against Kurdish referendum vague but deliberate

Turkey’s National Security Council convened Sept. 22 to decide what measures to take against the Kurdistan Regional Government if it holds its independence referendum.

Iraqi girls play in a yard of a school in Mosul, Iraq July 18, 2017. REUTERS/Ari Jalal - RC1CE6912440

Is Iran seeking to impose its influence in Iraq's liberated Sunni areas?

The opening of a school in Ninevah province under the name of Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, stirred a wide debate within political and public circles in Iraq, as some saw the move as an attempt to provoke some Iraqis.

A member of the Iraqi Kurdish security forces stands guard next to the car of Mohammed Younis, a senior official of Iraq's state-run North Gas Company (NGC) who was killed by gunmen, in the northern oil city of Kirkuk, Iraq, May 2, 2017. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC1FC8168D00

Kirkuk teetering on brink of war

The planned Kurdish referendum has divided the main ruling Kurdish party in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, raising tension in the city and threatening to undermine the delicate and fragile cohesion that exists in the multi-ethnic city.

Sectarianism in Iraq peaks ahead of Kurdistan referendum

With the Kurdistan independence referendum just days away, politicians and the general public are fanning sectarian tension on both sides of the vote.

Court backs Baghdad by stalling Kurdish referendum

The Baghdad government has several legal, economic and military options to prevent the Kurdistan region from conducting an independence referendum that is opposed by most regional and global powers.

A man reads a copy of the magazine "Israel-Kurd" at a street in Arbil, 310 km (190 miles) north of Baghdad August 16, 2009. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari (IRAQ SOCIETY) - GM1E58H06K201

How Israel's support is swaying Kurdish sentiment ahead of referendum

Turkey’s Kurds may have divergent views on Israeli backing for the referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan, but their support for the independence bid remains robust.

International artists explore fragmented Middle East in Istanbul

The 2017 Istanbul Biennial asks what makes a good neighbor in a world plagued by war, repression and division.

Turkish military sends anti-referendum message with exercises across border

Ankara is trying to tell its neighbors something with its massive military exercise across the border from Iraqi Kurdistan as the Kurdish Regional Government's independence referendum nears.

(LtoR) Turkey's Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini give a joint press conference following the EU-Turkey High Level Political Dialogue meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels on July 25, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / JOHN THYS (Photo credit should read JOHN THYS/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkish FM says KRG referendum 'big mistake'

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks about the upcoming independence vote in Iraqi Kurdistan, Turkish-EU relations and expanding cooperation with Russia.