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Iraq

March 22, 2026

Baghdad 2:03 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

Members of the ultra-nationalist Turkish Youth Association (TGB) take part in a protest against academics close to U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen in front of Ankara University in Ankara, Turkey, July 21, 2016. The banner reads "Universities should be cleansed from Fethullah's terrorist organisation". REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTSJ0KC

Will KRG be next target of Turkey's Gulenist purge?

Though the Gulen movement has long been a major player in education, business and public facilities in Iraqi Kurdistan, observers doubt that the Turkish government will let its influence hinder relations between the two important trading partners.

U.S. President Barack Obama holds a news conference at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, U.S. August 4, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTSL3YM

Obama: no safe haven for al-Qaeda in Syria

The United States to continue "intense fire efforts" against terrorist group as US-Russia talks appear stalled; Is Muqtada al-Sadr losing the Iraqi street? Nouri al-Maliki plots his return.

No end to the militias in Iraq

Every once in a while a new militia emerges in Iraq, increasing the chance of instability in the country.

Who is Golani, Nusra's No. 1 man?

Al-Monitor has exclusive information about the life of Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the leader of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra). Witnesses talked about his jihad in Iraq and his journey back to Syria from where he announced the formation of Jabhat al-Nusra in 2012.

U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Stuart Jones (center L) walks with Secretary of State John Kerry (center R) as he arrives via military transport at Baghdad International Airport in Baghdad April 8, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSE4QI

Lobbying 2016: US comes to Iraq’s rescue

Lieutenant General Abdelwahab al-Saadi speaks during an interview with Reuters in Falluja, Iraq, June 20, 2016. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RTX2H7ML

Security trench around Fallujah leaves residents feeling trapped

The Iraqi government is digging a trench to protect Fallujah, but the idea is raising concerns that civilians will end up isolated from the rest of the country.

Residents and Iraqi security forces inspect the site where a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest at the entrance to Kadhimiya, a mostly Shi'ite Muslim district in northwest Baghdad, Iraq July 24, 2016. REUTERS/Khalid al Mousily - RTSJDJ7

Kadhimiya and Adhamiya, symbols of Iraqi sectarianism

Baghdad's Kadhimiya and Adhamiya suburbs face each other on opposite sides of the Tigris and also reflect the sectarian division from which Iraq suffers.

Iraq's Vice President Nouri al-Maliki (L) and new Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi shake hands during the session to approve the new government in Baghdad, September 8, 2014.Iraq's parliament approved a new government headed by Haider al-Abadi as prime minister on Monday night, in a bid to rescue Iraq from collapse, with sectarianism and Arab-Kurdish tensions on the rise. REUTERS/Hadi Mizban/Pool (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR45G35

Is Maliki plotting return to power with Kurdistan visit?

Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's visit to Sulaimaniyah has sparked rumors of his hopes of regaining the premiership.

Shi'ite fighters from Saraya al-Salam, who are loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, gather in the holy city of Najaf before heading to the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit to continue the offensive against Islamic State militants March 20, 2015. Iraq's most important Shi'ite religious leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, called on Friday for greater professionalism and planning by government forces and allied militias in fighting Islamic State insurgents. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani - RTR4U6EW

Abadi moves to demilitarize Iraq's cities

Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi has instructed the Interior Ministry to take measures to remove signs of militarization from Iraqi cities.

Members of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) attend a news conference to announce the final results of the parliamentary election in Baghdad May 19, 2014. Prime Minister Nouri Maliki won the largest share of Iraqi parliamentary seats in last month's national elections, dealing a blow to Shi?ite, Sunni and Kurdish rivals who opposed his serving a third term. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: ELECTIONS POLITICS) - RTR3PUN0

Demand for reform reaches Iraq's electoral commission

A group of Iraqi parliamentarians wants to dissolve the Independent High Electoral Commission, but no satisfactory mechanism for selecting a new commission has been offered.

Members of al Qaeda's Nusra Front ride on a tank as they head towards their positions during an offensive to take control of the northwestern city of Ariha from forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, in Idlib province May 28, 2015. The Syrian army has pulled back from the northwestern city of Ariha after a coalition of insurgent groups seized the last city in Idlib province in northwestern Syria near the Turkish border that was still held by the government. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah - RTR4XXNO

Al-Qaeda affiliate’s desperate 'switch' validates US Syria policy

Fear of US and Russian airstrikes on eve of Syrian offensive a sign that Jabhat al-Nusra may be feeling the heat; Turkey’s de-Gulenification campaign in context; retired Saudi general probes Israeli commitment to peace settlement.

Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is seen during a protest against corruption at Tahrir Square in Baghdad, July 15, 2016. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani - RTSI1H7

Iraq's civil movement breaks away from Sadr protests

Civil society is stretching its own wings to wrestle the Iraqi civil movement away from the control of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr through the formation of new groups distancing themselves from the Sadr alliances.