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Iraq

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

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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.

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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.

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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

How to resolve Iraq's economic crisis

It's time for Iraq to look beyond stopgap measures and develop a larger plan to resolve the country's dire economic situation.

Flowers and candles are placed near the scene of a shooting the day after a series of deadly attacks in Paris, France, November 14, 2015. REUTERS/Yves Herman - RTS72LB

How to defeat the Islamic State

To defeat the Islamic State, the world powers need a clear-cut, unified strategy to guide the war on terrorism.

Kurdish infighting complicates Sinjar offensive

In the wake of a massive assault on the Islamic State for the city of Sinjar, Iraq, there is speculation about how disagreements among Kurdish factions will play out.

As European dream fades, Iraqi Kurds return home

Thousands of Kurds who fled to Europe are now seeking to return to Iraq after facing an even harsher reality there.

Will Washington put more boots on the ground in Iraq?

The recent operation in Hawija led by the United States to release Islamic State hostages raised a debate in Iraq about the government’s powers and sovereignty over its territory.

An Iraqi Christian woman 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 deman

Is Congress paving the way for a Christian safe zone in Iraq?

A bipartisan effort to denounce an ongoing genocide is picking up steam. That's just the first step.

The child soldiers fighting to stop the Islamic State

Iraqis are divided between supporters and opponents of the participation of young people in the war against the Islamic State.

Kirkuk Governor Najmaldin Karim (C) walks with Kurdish peshmerga officers near Khabbaz oilfield, in the outskirts of Kirkuk February 1, 2015. Iraqi Kurdish forces on Sunday found and freed workers who had gone missing a day earlier when Islamic State insurgents seized a small crude oil station near the northern city of Kirkuk, the provincial governor and a provincial councilman said. Picture taken February 1, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW POLITICS ENERGY CONFLICT) - RTR4NVVJ

Kirkuk governor: US must work with Iran to stabilize Iraq

Kurdish leader Najmaldin Karim lays out his vision for post-IS peace.

Why Iraqi women are turning to the Internet to buy books

Iraqi women are ordering books from the comfort of their own homes, overcoming the crippling security conditions.

Why Iraqi Christians are against the establishment of their own autonomous region

The secretary-general of the Assyrian Democratic Movement and member of the Iraqi parliament, Yonadam Kanna, speaks to Al-Monitor about the Christians’ status in Iraq, while he denied claims that they are demanding an autonomous region of their own, saying these claims are racist.

A general view of Jerusalem's old city shows the Dome of the Rock in the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, October 25, 2015. Palestinian officials reacted warily on Sunday to what U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry hailed as Jordan's "excellent suggestion" to calm Israeli-Palestinian violence by putting a sensitive Jerusalem holy site under constant video monitoring. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RTX1T4AE

Zawahri and Jerusalem

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, in a new audio message following a classic pattern, lauds Palestinian attacks in Jerusalem and calls on followers to attack Israel's international backers to hasten the fall of the Jewish state.

When conflict arises, these Iraqis go to the madeef

Madeefs have become a popular alternative to the traditional legal system in Iraq, with Iraqis seeking the assistance of tribes to settle disputes and conflicts.