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Iraq

March 19, 2026

Baghdad 3:01 pm

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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

Iraq's Kurdistan region's President Massoud Barzani (C) sits during his meets with clerics and elders from the cities of the Kurdistan region in Erbil, Iraq August 9, 2017. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RTS1B1DI

Is Barzani backing away from independence referendum?

Iraqi Kurdistan's president expects "guarantees and alternatives" from Washington; Hamas diplomatic surge with Iran and Russia.

Iraq’s legendary fashion house revived

Despite pressure from conservatives and a lack of funds, the Iraqi House of Fashion revives its glory days with a museum catwalk.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with Iraqi Shi'ite leader Muqtada al-Sadr in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia July 30, 2017. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RTS19RFH

What's behind controversial Iraqi cleric's visit to Saudi Arabia?

Top Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has shifted his domestic and regional policies, adopting a stance independent of Iran.

Chairman of the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITC) Arshad al-Salihi (2nd-L) speaks during a press conference in the ethnically mixed northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on June 28, 2014, to denounce comments made by Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani about the city. Barzani said Baghdad could no longer object to Kurdish self-rule in Kirkuk and other areas from which federal forces withdrew as the insurgents advanced. AFP PHOTO/MARWAN IBRAHIM (Photo credit should read MARWAN IBRAHIM/AFP/Getty Images)

Iraq's Turkmen areas become battlefield in Kurdish referendum debate

Turkmen areas in Iraq have become a battleground between Arabs and Kurds to exert influence over them, while the Turkmens are concerned about the inclusion of these areas in the Kurdistan referendum on independence.

A view of a part of western Mosul, Iraq, May 29, 2017. Alkis Konstantinidis: "It was the second day of my assignment in Mosul and we were driving to join the Iraqi Federal Police forces at their frontline positions. The closer we got to our destination, the more obvious was the impact of the constant warfare. The cityscape was apocalyptic: demolished buildings, burnt cars tipped onto their sides, twisted masses of steel. We reached the frontline on what seemed a quiet day. But even if things appear calm, yo

US vows to press ahead with Iraq bomb clearance despite criticism

A State Department audit released this week criticizes the agency’s approach to oversight of efforts to clear improvised explosive devices and mines in Iraq.

Protesters, who are mostly school teachers, demonstrate on a street in Sulaymaniyah province, Iraq, against the Kurdish regional government for what the protesters said was a delay in payment of their salaries, due to the economic crisis in the Iraqi Kurdish region September 27, 2016. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed - RTSPOCJ

Not all Kurds on board with Kurdish independence vote

Some residents of Sulaimaniyah are fed up with the Iraqi Kurdistan government's poor management of the economy and may take their frustration out in the upcoming independence referendum.

Members of an Iraqi Special forces intelligence team talk to a suspected Islamic State fighter in Mosul, Iraq November 27, 2016. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic - RTSTITF

What is the fate of foreign IS fighters in Iraq?

Iraqi security forces arrested dozens of foreign fighters for the Islamic State during the battle of Mosul, but Baghdad must now decide their fate.

Iran steps up pressure on Iraqi Kurds to halt referendum

Iran is stepping up pressure on Iraqi Kurdish political parties to refrain from holding their upcoming referendum on independence.

A man takes a picture of his daugther near the Kurdistan flag at the castle of Erbil, Iraq, July 29,2017. REUTERS/Khalid Al-Mousily - RTS19OL9

Iraqi Kurdistan’s risky independence referendum

Iraqi Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani may seek leverage from Sunni Arabs to balance opposition from Baghdad, Tehran and Ankara.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with Iraqi Shi'ite leader Muqtada al-Sadr in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia July 30, 2017. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RTS19RFJ

Saudi Arabia engages Iraq after a quarter century

A resurgence of Saudi diplomacy with Iraq is aimed at keeping Iranian regional power in check.

Iraq's Kurdistan region's President Massoud Barzani gestures during a joint news conference with German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel (not pictured) in Erbil, Iraq April 20, 2017. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RTS1348S

KRG not concerned by Turkey's reactions to independence vote

Although Kurdistan Regional Government officials are optimistic about the Turkish government's ultimate position on the independence referendum, the Turkish president's recent remarks say differently.

A member of Iraqi army walks at the remains of wall panels and colossal statues of winged bulls, destroyed by Islamic State militants in the Assyrian city of Nimrud eastern bank of the Tigris River, south of Mosul, Iraq, November 16, 2016. REUTERS/Ari Jalal - RTX2TYPA

Iraq steps up efforts to restore lost heritage at ancient Nimrud

After the defeat of the Islamic State in Mosul, a campaign to reconstruct the ancient city of Nimrud with the cooperation of UNESCO has begun.