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Iraq

August 10, 2026

Baghdad 10:44 am

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a worker inspects an oil field in Iraq

Analysis

How Turkey is deepening energy and economic ties with Iraq as Iran weakens

Turkey and Iraq are accelerating energy, infrastructure and trade cooperation as the Hormuz crisis increases the strategic value of northern export routes.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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.

Latest News

Analysis

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

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) /

Mustafa Salim

By Mustafa Salim

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

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

IRAQI STUDENTS APPLYING FOR FULBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIPS CROWD A ROOM TO SIT
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EXAMS AT BAGHDAD UNIVERSITY. - RTR705D

Iraqi higher education continues decline

Although Iraq has seen a sharp rise in the number of higher education institutions in recent years, the quality remains poor.

Members of Iraqi National Alliance (INA) and the State of Law (SOL) coalition hold a meeting in Baghdad October 1, 2010. An alliance of Iraq's Shi'ite political blocs picked incumbent Nuri al-Maliki as its nominee for prime minister on Friday, ending months of wrangling that had stalled formation of a government. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXSWUU

Prospects of Shiite 'National Alliance' hinge on Maliki

Most Shiite forces, for now, think they have an interest in rebuilding the alliance, but the final call will depend on the decision of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the State of Law Coalition, which won the most votes in the parliamentary elections last month.

A girl stands amidst people attending Friday prayer in Najaf, south of Baghdad, March 28, 2014. REUTERS/ Ahmad Mousa (IRAQ - Tags: RELIGION TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3J081

Tensions remain between Iraqi government, religious authorities

The attack on schools in Najaf, during which foreign students were arrested, shows the imbalance in the relation between politics and religion in Iraq.

A buyer inspects a weapon inside a shop selling firearms in Baghdad March 2, 2006. Fearful of sectarian attacks since the bombing of a Shi'ite shrine on February 22, Iraqis are barricading homes and stocking up on weapons in a country already awash with guns. Picture taken March 2, 2006. REUTERS/Faleh Kheiber - RTR16W8K

Shopping for guns in Sadr City

In Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood, a weapons market opens its doors every night to tribesmen who buy all kinds of arms, while the government claims to be unaware of the situation.

A woman walks past a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) campaign poster for Iraq's parliamentary elections in Sulaimaniya April 28, 2014. Picture taken April 28, 2014. To match IRAQ-ELECTION/KURDS REUTERS/Jacob Russell (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3N0GU

Would PUK cut separate deal with Maliki?

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) did well in the Iraqi national elections, and may be flirting with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to strengthen its hand in Iraqi Kurdish politics.

BAGHDAD, Iraq: Supporters of the dominant Iraqi Shiite "United Iraqi Alliance" list flash the "V" sign near a picture of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani during a political rally in Baghdad's poor neighborhood of Sadr city, 12 December 2005. The United Iraqi Alliance list put on a show of force ahead of Iraqi elections for a full-term parliament, staging a rally that drew thousands in eastern Baghdad. Iraqi violence shadowed special early polling Monday ahead of a general election for a full-term parliament

Sistani keeps distance from Iraqi election politics

Although there have been attempts to embroil Iraqi cleric Ali al-Sistani in the country’s ongoing political disputes, he has continued to stress his non-involvement in these issues.

Iraqi forces walk during a patrol looking for militants from the al Qaeda faction, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), explosives and weapons in a neighbourhood in Ramadi May 14, 2014. Thousands of civilians have fled Falluja since last week after the Iraqi military intensified shelling in a new bid to crush a five-month old Sunni uprising, killing scores of people in what residents describe as massive indiscriminate bombardment. More than 420,000 people have already escaped the two main cities

Maliki got election assist from Anbar crisis

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki skillfully used the Anbar crisis to deepen the sense of collective danger among Shiite voters.

Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yildiz speaks at the Iraq-Kurdistan Oil and Gas Conference at Arbil in Iraq's Kurdistan region, December 2, 2013. Turkey said on Monday it stood by a bilateral oil deal with Iraq's Kurdistan region that bypassed central government but wanted to win Baghdad's support by drawing it into the arrangement. Reuters reported that Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan signed a multi-billion-dollar energy package last week, infuriating a central Baghdad government which claims sole authority over

Turkey pivots to Baghdad to close deal on Kurdish oil

Turkey has realized it can’t sell Kurdish oil without Baghdad’s blessing.

An election poster of Mahmoud Al-Hassan of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's State of Law coalition is displayed along a street at the start of the election campaign in Baghdad April 18, 2014. Iraq is holding its national election at the end of this month. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3LSZ3

Iraqi MP fined for offering land for votes

A video of an Iraqi MP from the State of Law Coalition distributing deeds to plots of land in exchange for votes for the coalition has triggered controversy, and raises broader questions about a rise of political patronage in the country.

A member of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) sleeps during a vote counting session for the parliamentary election at an analysis centre in Baghdad May 11, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3ON4B

Iraqi political blocs mislead with leaks on election results

A number of Iraqi politicians and political blocs have used social media for what they claim are leaked election results from last month’s parliamentary elections.

Osama al-Nujaifi (C), speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives, holds up his ink-stained finger as he casts his vote at a polling station during a parliamentary election in Baghdad April 30, 2014. Iraqis headed to the polls on Wednesday in their first national election since U.S. forces withdrew from Iraq in 2011, with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki seeking a third term amid rising violence. REUTERS/Mahmoud Raouf Mahmoud (IRAQ - Tags: ELECTIONS POLITICS) - RTR3N8ZF

Uncertain prospects for Iraqi 'Sunni Alliance'

It is unclear whether the three currents can unite on unified Sunni interests.

A worker stands and works on a campaign billboard of presidential candidate and Egypt's former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, along a highway in Cairo May 12, 2014. An influential Qatar-based Islamist whose fiery sermons have caused tension between Gulf states said on Sunday that Egyptian presidential front runner Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will only bring downfall to the country. Sisi is expected to easily win the May 26-27 presidential election. The only other candidate is leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi, w

The false promise of Mideast elections

The coming presidential elections in Egypt, Syria and Turkey offer little hope for a regional trend toward stability and democracy.