Iraq - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Iran cover image

Iraq

March 5, 2026

Baghdad 5:33 pm

15°C

A picture from the formation of the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan on Feb. 22, 2026.

Which 6 Kurdish groups could join the war in Iran?

Iranian Kurdish groups that recently formed an alliance could soon join the United States and Israel in their campaign against the Islamic Republic, Al-Monitor has learned.

A member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) participates in a military drill in an outpost near Erbil, Kurdistan region of Iraq on Jan. 15, 2026.

Exclusive

US-backed Kurdish forces poised to enter Iran from Iraqi Kurdistan 'within days'

The CIA has reportedly been in contact with Iranian Kurdish armed groups since last year, as Israel has pressed for Kurdish engagement.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

An Iranian Kurdish Peshmerga member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) inspects damage sustained at the Azadi Camp of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) following an Iranian cross-border attack in the town of Koye (Koysinjaq), in the east of Erbil district in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq on March 3, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with the killing of Iran's supreme leader and the Islamic republic retaliated with barr

Analysis

Kurds see opening yet remain wary as Trump seeks help to oust Iran regime

As the US and Israel escalate strikes on Iran, Trump has opened talks with Iraqi Kurdish leaders about their potential involvement in the conflict.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Women and children seen inside al-Hol camp, amongst them some 6,200 women and children from around 40 nationalities, and including relatives of suspected Islamic State jihadists in the desert region of Hasakah province on Jan. 25, 2026 in Al Hasakah, Syria.

Turkey to repatriate its ISIS fighters from Iraq as jihadis escalate Syria attacks

Ankara will repatriate its nationals from among thousands of fighters transferred from Syria, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said.

Latest News

Here is what to know about Kuwait-Iraq maritime dispute

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq.

US envoy Barrack oversees Chevron deal in Iraq amid Iran influence row

Barrack Sudani

US court overturns Trump global tariffs: What it means for MENA

Heather Diehl/Getty Images

Analysis

Despite warnings from Israel's defense elite, Netanyahu pushes for Iran strike

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands amid debris outside the Soroka Hospital in the southern city of Beersheba, after it was hit by a missile fired from Iran on June 19, 2025. Israel's defence minister warned that Iran's supreme leader "can no longer be allowed to exist" after a hospital was hit in an Iranian missile strike on June 19, spiking tensions in the week-old war. (Photo by Marc Israel SELLEM / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

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

Workers install electric wires for Iraqi refugees as they set up a new part of the Khazir refugee camp near the Kurdish checkpoint of Aski Kalak, 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, Nov. 21, 2016.

Iraqi Kurdistan's first solar plant helps with power outages, boosts agriculture

The Kurdistan Regional Government’s efforts to increase renewable energy usage come amid persistent electricity shortages throughout Iraq, as well as rising environmental concerns.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) poses with Hungarian Prime minister Viktor Orbán after they met for discussions on Syria and migration on Nov. 7, 2019 in Budapest, Hungary.

Turkey Election: Foreign allies prematurely rush to congratulate Erdogan

In a split from standard diplomatic practices, the Turkish President’s foreign allies openly voiced their support of Erdogan ahead of a critical runoff poll.

Karwan Gaznay

Iraqi Kurdish politician survives assassination attempt

Tensions have been high for months between the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, though recent dialogue may have calmed the situation.

ISMAEL ADNAN/AFP via Getty Images

Iraq's parliament speaker Halbousi says Sunni community ‘cannot go back to the past'

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Iraq's parliament speaker discussed the turnaround among Iraqi Sunnis, relations with Iraq’s neighbors and why young Iraqis expect results.

Iraq Sako

Iraqi division intensifies between church, Christian Babylon Movement

The institutional Iraqi church and the Christian political party of Babylon are feuding over the leadership of Christian affairs in Iraq.

Iraq's Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein gives a joint press conference with his German counterpart at the foreign ministry headquarters in Baghdad on March 7, 2023. (Photo by Murtaja LATEEF / AFP) (Photo by MURTAJA LATEEF/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraqi FM expects continuity in ties with Turkey, no matter who wins election

Fuad Hussein says TotalEnergies deal “would change character of Iraqi economy,” discusses relations with the United States, Iran, Syria and Arab states.

Workers at the Northern Oil Company carry out maintenance work at the pumping station in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.

Iraq asks Turkey to resume oil exports as firms in Kurdistan region scale back

Turkey has still yet to restart oil flows from northern Iraq following a controversial court ruling despite efforts by Iraqi and Kurdish authorities. The stoppage is threatening the Kurdistan Region’s oil sector.

HUSSEIN FALEH/AFP via Getty Images

Iraqi religious official dies of heart attack following escape from prison

Saad Kumbesh, the former head of Iraq's Sunni waqf, died after he was caught by police. He was serving time for corruption before his escape.

Turkey oil

Oil flow from Iraqi Kurdistan to Turkey remains stopped, threatening sector

Oil flows to Turkey remain frozen following the agreement between Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government. The impasse could hurt the autonomous region’s oil sector and revenue.

Iraqi children cross a flooded street in the Iraqi capital Baghdad after heavy rains, on Dec. 24, 2022.

Severe floods in Iraq leave several dead, adding to climate strains

Iraq is contending with both heavy rains and increasing desertification.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks.

Turkey accuses Iraqi Kurdish party of being under ‘full control’ of PKK

Turkey's top diplomat tore into an Iraqi Kurdish group following an April 8 drone strike targeting the US-led coalition’s top ally in Syria, saying the PKK had taken “full control” of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

A member of the Iraqi security forces stands by a destroyed vehicle that was carrying rockets amdist sacks of flour, in the district of al-Baghdadi in al-Anbar province on July 8, 2021. - Fourteen rockets were fired on July 7 at an air base hosting American troops in the western province of Anbar, causing minor injuries to two personnel, the coalition said. The rockets "landed on the base & perimeter" of the Ain al-Assad base, the coalition spokesman tweeted, adding that local homes and a mosque were also d

Iraqi militias escalate rhetoric against US, threatening more attacks

After a period of calm following the formation of the new government, angry rhetoric has been rising against the US embassy's social outreach to Iraqi groups and tribes.