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Iraq

August 10, 2026

Baghdad 1:10 pm

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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

A member of Saudi security forces attends Abdullah's Sword military drill as a jet flies by in Hafar Al-Batin, near the border with Kuwait REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: MILITARY) - RTR3N4AM

What message is Saudi Arabia sending with war games?

Saudi Arabia has just finished its largest war games in recent history, signalling its intent to develop its military capabilities in an increasingly unstable region.

Employees of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) count ballots during the Iraqi parliamentary elections 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/Wissm al-Okili (IRAQ - Tags: ELECTIONS POLITICS) - RTR3NAHT

Iraqi election could lead to partition

Iraqi parties across the political spectrum seek to break Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s monopoly on the central government.

ATTENTION EDITORS - VISUAL COVERAGE OF SCENES OF INJURY OR DEATH

Iraqi security forces react at the scene of a car bomb attack at a Shi'ite political organisation's rally in Baghdad, April 25, 2014. A series of explosions killed 18 people at a Shi'ite political organisation's rally in Iraq on Friday, police and medical sources said. The militant group, Asaib Ahl Haq (League of the Righteous), introduced its candidates for elections on April 30 at the rally in eastern Baghdad. Three bombs exploded in succes

Iraqi elections marred by hit squads targeting candidates

Amid rising assassination attempts of candidates for today’s Iraqi parliamentary elections, some political blocs are accusing parties in the government of being behind these operations.

Former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi speaks during an interview with Reuters in Baghdad, April 20, 2014. For Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, a politician who saw himself as the one who rescued Iraq from civil war in the last decade, the current state of affairs amounts to a stunning reversal of fortune as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters inch towards the capital and Shiite militias he vanquished assert their influence again. Picture taken April 20, 2014. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ

Allawi battles for his share of Iraqi votes

Ayad Allawi expressed pessimism toward the upcoming Iraqi elections and called on Iran to contribute to ensuring security in Iraq.

A cloud of smoke rises from an oil pipeline in Tikrit, north of Baghdad, April 17, 2014. A rusting pipeline that runs from the Kirkuk oilfields to the Baiji refinery in Salahuddin province leaked a large amount of oil into the Tigris River, according to a Northern Oil Company official who asked not be named. The spill stirred panic after someone set the oil ablaze, sending huge clouds of smoke into the provincial capital Tikrit, according to city residents. Ambulances evacuated residents with difficulty bre

On eve of elections, Iraq's waters become weapons of war

While confrontations continued in various regions of Iraq between armed militants and the government, both sides have tried to take control of water resources to achieve their interests.

Iraqi security forces stand guard during an election campaign for candidates of Al-Sadiqoon in Baghdad, April 25, 2014. The elections, a key test for the country's fledgling democracy, will take place against a backdrop of increasing violence and fighting in western Anbar province to expel al-Qaeda linked groups. The run-up to the national election on April 30 has been marred by attacks. A series of explosions killed 28 people and wounded more than 40 at Asaib's rally in Iraq on Friday, police and medical s

Iraqi elections threatened by terror

The Iraqi government is scrambling to address the terror threat to polling stations and voters with elections scheduled for April 30.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki (2nd R) visits a concrete plant for the Basmaya residential project in Baghdad April 16, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS REAL ESTATE) - RTR3LHYV

Maliki goes on offense as elections approach

With Iraq’s parliamentary elections only days away, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has accused his adversaries of failing to take responsibility for their role in the current crises.

A supporter of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr takes part in a rally, which the participants said was against sectarianism and injustice, in Kut, 150 km (93 miles) southeast of Baghdad, March 16, 2013. REUTERS/Wissm al-Okili (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3F2NB

Sectarian discourse dominates Iraqi election politics

Candidates in Iraq’s upcoming elections continue to engage in a sectarian, rather than, national discourse.

A man walks past election posters of Iraqi women candidates in Baghdad, April 24, 2014. As Iraq's general election draws closer, both men and women are vying for seats in the country's parliament. But this year's election, the first one after the withdrawal of U.S troops in 2011, has seen an increase in the number of female candidates. According to an Iraqi election official, women make up around 30 to 35 percent of the candidates in the April 30 election. "The total number of nominees in the 2010 parliame

Maliki diversifies Iraqi electoral lists

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has diversified his electoral lists to have a larger share of the votes in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (front 3rd L) takes part in 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) - RTR3LQ8G

Maliki’s State of Law Coalition wants majority government

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law Coalition is blaming current problems on the "partnership" government, worked out in a power-sharing arrangement in 2010.

Ammar al-Hakim, leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), gives a speech during prayers for the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha in Baghdad, October 16, 2013. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha, marking the end of the haj, by slaughtering sheep, goats, cows and camels to commemorate Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail on God's command. REUTERS/Saad Shalash (IRAQ - Tags: RELIGION SOCIETY POLITICS) - RTX14DIE

Hakim-led Citizen Coalition could shake up Iraqi elections

New coalitions of moderate religious and secular origins could bode well for Iraqi politics and shake up the April 30 elections.

A woman with ink-stained fingers, holds a walking stick at a polling station in Baghdad's Sadr City March 7, 2010. Polling stations opened in Iraq on Sunday for a parliamentary election seen as crucial to the future of a country seeking stability after years of bloodshed. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE - RTR2CEG2

Women prominent in coming Iraqi elections

Unlike in past elections, many female candidates are running in the Iraqi parliamentary elections scheduled for the end of this month.