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Iraq

August 10, 2026

Baghdad 11:57 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

Israeli film sows nostalgia among Iraqi Jews

The Israeli film “Farewell Baghdad” explores the Jewish community in Iraq that was expelled from the country in the 1950s and 1960s, and has sparked feelings of nostalgia among Iraqi Jews.

ATTENTION EDITORS - VISUAL COVERAGE OF SCENES OF INJURY OR DEATH

People carry a wounded woman after an accidental explosion caused by leftover ordnance at Bustan al-Diwan, in old Homs City, May 10, 2014. Hundreds of residents return to Homs, after rebels left the city. REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) TEMPLATE OUT - RTR3OKXD

What can we learn from Homs?

Given the collapse of the Geneva process, and the Syrian government’s staying power, localized cease-fires may be the latest trend in the conflict.

An employee of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) checks the numbers written on boxes containing the parliamentary elections ballots at an analysis centre in Baghdad May 9, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: ELECTIONS POLITICS) - RTR3OFS6

Iraqi elections will not be decisive

While some Iraqi politicians and media outlets tried to portray last month’s elections as “decisive” or “a matter of life and death,” they are merely one part of a long, democratic process.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki shows his ink marked finger as he votes during parliamentary election in Baghdad April 30, 2014. Iraqis head to the polls on Wednesday in their first national election since U.S. forces withdrew from Iraq in 2011 as Prime Minister Nuri Maliki seeks a third term amid rising violence.
REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (IRAQ - Tags: ELECTIONS POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3N6JL

Iraqi Shiite religious leaders divided on Maliki

The Iraqi parliamentary elections are showing a deep division among the Shiite community, with rising tension between the Shiite religious authorities and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Employees of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) count ballots during Iraqi parliamentary elections in Arbil, capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region, about 350 km (217 miles) north of Baghdad April 30, 2014. Iraqis head to the polls on Wednesday in their first national election since U.S. forces withdrew from Iraq in 2011 as Prime Minister Nuri Maliki seeks a third term amid rising violence. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags - Tags: ELECTIONS POLITICS) - RTR3NATN

Iraqi voters shift from religious to 'political sectarianism'

Iraqi voters appear to be gradually changing their loyalties from religious authorities to political groups.

A member of the Independent High Electoral Commission prays near ballot boxes during a vote counting at an analysis centre in Najaf, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad, May 2, 2014. Iraq held a democratic vote to choose a leader with no foreign troops present for the first time on Wednesday, as Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki sought to hold power for a third term in a country again consumed by sectarian bloodshed. The electoral commission said 60 percent of all voters had so far cast a ballot, accord

Hakim calls for return of Iraq's National Alliance

The leader of the Iraq Citizen Coalition is calling for a renewed National Alliance among Iraq's Shiite political parties.

Osama al-Nujaifi, speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives, 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) - RTR3N8XT

Sunnis, Kurds vie for Iraqi presidency

Although the post of president in Iraq has been held by a Kurdish politician, Jalal Talabani, since 2005, there are reports that some Sunni politicians may be looking to assume the post.

Girls wash dishes outside their house in a slum neighbourhood in Baghdad's Sadr City July 31, 2007. About 30 poor families make a living by gathering junk at the dumpsite in Sadr City, a vast slum in northeastern Baghdad. REUTERS/Kareem Raheem (IRAQ) - RTR1SEUJ

Iraq faces challenge to find solution for growing slums

With Baghdad’s slums accommodating more than 2 million people, a solution to the housing crisis needs to be part of an urban planning strategy, something that previous governments ignored when distributing land to the poor.

Salih Muslim, co-president of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), poses during an interview in Marseille, southern France, on December 1, 2013. PYD, the biggest Kurdish armed group, wants to establish an autonomous Kurdish state within a federal Syria and a commission is already writing the constitution of this potential state, Muslim told AFP. Syrian Kurds in the war-torn country's northeast announced last month the formation of a transitional autonomous administration after making key territo

Syrian Kurd leader urges Turkey to join fight against jihadists

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Syrian Kurdish leader Salih Muslim says his Democratic Union Party will not participate in Syria’s presidential elections, and questions why the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq is not helping Syria’s Kurds.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki speaks to his supporters during a ceremony to announce his election platform as well as promote candidates of State of Law coalition in Kerbala, southwest of Baghdad, April 17, 2014. REUTERS/Mushtaq Muhammed (IRAQ - Tags: ELECTIONS POLITICS) - RTR3LQ81

Iran seeks Shiite consensus on next Iraqi premier

Iran would prefer that Nouri al-Maliki serve a third term as Iraqi prime minister, but will also give priority to a consensus among the Iraqi Shiite parties.

An election campaign poster of Iraq's former prime minister Ayad Allawi is pictured in Baghdad April 3, 2014. Iraq's parliamentary election is scheduled for later this month. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3JUUI

Allawi: Even Syria interferes in Iraq’s elections

Iraqi politican Ayad Allawi spoke with Iran's IR Diplomacy about his complicated relationship with Iran.

A worker from the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) walks amongst ballot boxes during a vote counting at an analysis centre in Kerbala, south of Baghdad May 2, 2014. Iraq held a democratic vote to choose a leader with no foreign troops present for the first time on Wednesday, as Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki sought to hold power for a third term in a country again consumed by sectarian bloodshed. The electoral commission said 60 percent of all voters had so far cast a ballot, according to

Iraqis defy terrorists to vote in elections

The Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission is reporting a 59% voter turnout, despite the threats of violence.