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Iraq

August 7, 2026

Baghdad 3:04 pm

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Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa meets with Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani in Damascus, Aug. 3, 2026. IKRPresident/X

Iraqi Kurdish president’s meeting with Syria’s Sharaa signals shift in SDF dynamics

KRG President Nechirvan Barzani’s meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa underscored the Kurdistan Region’s growing role in Syria’s Kurdish politics.

Mourners carry one of the bodies of members of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi, or Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) who were killed earlier in Diyala in central Iraq by US-Saudi strikes, during the funeral in Baghdad on July 29, 2026. The US-Saudi strikes killed at least 20 militants, including Iranians, according to the Hashed al-Shaabi. The US and Saudi Arabia said the strikes were in response to attacks on US forces and Saudi oil facilities. (Photo by murtadha ridha / AFP via Getty Images) /

Analysis

Renewed Iraq attacks test Zaidi’s push to disarm Iran-backed militias

An attempt by Iraqi government forces to seize weapons belonging to an Iranian-backed faction encountered resistance, raising questions about Prime Minister Ali Zaidi’s pledge to disarm militias by Sept. 30.

Mustafa Salim

By Mustafa Salim

Latest News

Analysis

Iran-linked militias seek to draw Iraq into regional war

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.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

Exclusive

US nears full withdrawal from Iraq as bases in Kurdistan Region face attacks from Iran, proxies

Patriot

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Zaidi cancels Riyadh trip after US-Saudi strikes on Iran-backed militias in Iraq

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi at a Council of Ministers meeting in Baghdad, July 25, 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

A girl walks past the site after a suicide car bomb attack at the shopping area of Karrada, a largely Shi'ite district, in Baghdad, Iraq July 4, 2016. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad - RTX2JMRE

Baghdad bombing ignites demand for better security in Iraq

Repercussions of the massive July 3 suicide bombing in Baghdad could include extensive political change and government reshuffling, especially if such attacks continue.

Iraqi Shi'ite Muslims from Hashid Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) march along a street as they hold a giant Iraqi flag during a parade marking the annual al-Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Baghdad, Iraq July 1, 2016. REUTERS/Khalid al Mousily - RTX2J7X3

Why some Iraqi Shiites are pushing for distance from Iran

Iraqi Shiites are dividing over their stance toward Iran, as the disagreement with Iran rose up among Shiites affiliated to Najaf.

Iraqi Shi'ite Muslims from Hashid Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) march during a parade marking the annual al-Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Baghdad, Iraq July 1, 2016. REUTERS/Khalid al Mousily - RTX2J7WT

Why Iraq needs the Popular Mobilization Units in fight against IS

Given the critical role of the PMU to date, its participation in upcoming battles against IS seems inevitable.

Iraqis look to get ahead on keffiyeh fashion

The headdress worn by Iraqi men has become the embodiment of Arab prestige and a status symbol worn not only by ordinary citizens, but also by politicians and dignitaries who use it to profess their political and social standing.

Iraqi pre-Islamic landmark threatening to collapse

The pre-Islamic Taq Kasr monument is suffering from neglect and is in dire need of maintenance.

Iraqi Shi'ite Turkmen fighters take part in an intensive security deployment in the town of Taza, south of the northern oil city of Kirkuk, June 19, 2014. The United States is contemplating talks with its arch-enemy Iran to support the Iraqi government in its battle with Sunni Islamist insurgents who routed Baghdad's army and seized the north of the country in the past week. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR3UOZA

Is Iraq's Kirkuk on verge of becoming independent region?

A proposal to make Kirkuk an independent region has Turkmens and Kurds assessing the future of the province.

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

Head of Fallujah liberation offers views on upcoming Mosul battle

Lt. Gen. Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi, who oversaw the Fallujah operation, speaks to Al-Monitor about lessons learned from that fight and offers his view on the impending battle to retake Mosul from IS.

An Iraqi Christian man fleeing the violence in the Iraqi city of Mosul, sits inside the Sacred Heart of Jesus Chaldean Church in Telkaif near Mosul, in the province of Nineveh, July 20, 2014. The head of Iraq's largest church said on Sunday that Islamic State militants who drove Christians out of Mosul were worse than Mongol leader Genghis Khan and his grandson Hulagu who ransacked medieval Baghdad. Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako led a wave of condemnation for the Sunni Islamists who demande

Christians in Iraqi Kurdistan complain about land seizure

Christians in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq complain of attempts to seize their land, which will push them to emigrate, as happened in Baghdad and other Iraqi provinces.

Iraq's Kurdistan region's President Massoud Barzani speaks during a news conference with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Erbil, Iraq December 8, 2015. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RTX1XPSR

How new alliance among Iraq's Kurds might actually deepen divisions

The recently formed alliance between Gorran and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan has raised the ire of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, deepening divisions in Iraqi Kurdistan.

How religious holidays are uniting Iraqi Muslims and Christians

Iraqi Muslims celebrated Christmas to show solidarity with Christians last year, while the Chaldean Catholic Church announced a day of fasting during the holy month of Ramadan this year to show that all Iraqis are united.

How this young Yazidi is bringing hope to IS victims

Pari Ibrahim, a young Yazidi women living in the Netherlands, established the Free Yezidi Foundation to highlight the stories of victims of this Iraqi community at the hands of the Islamic State.

An Iranian sniper stands on a hill as a helicopter flies overhead in military manoeuvres in western Iran, September 18, 2004. The manoeuvre by Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards are taking place near the border with Iraq. REUTERS/Fars News Agency MN/DBP - RTRB3OE

Why Iranian Kurdish party is stepping up fight against Tehran

The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan broke the two-decade cease-fire by launching attacks on IRGC forces, which triggered Iranian attacks against Iraqi Kurdistan.