Iraq - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent since 2012

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Iraq

March 31, 2026

Baghdad 4:57 am

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Members of the Popular Mobilization Units stand guard along the Iraqi-Syrian border in Al-Qaim, west of Iraq, on Jan. 23, 2026.

Syria sustains drone attack from Iraq, tackles smuggling tunnels on Lebanon border

The incidents on Syria's borders follow threats against the transitional government by Iran and its proxies in Iraq.

A general view of South Pars gas field facilities in the southern Iranian port town of Assaluyeh, on the Gulf, Nov. 19, 2015.

Analysis

Oil-rich Gulf states could face power crunch as Iran war hits energy security

While the conflict fuels a global oil price shock, the Gulf states must contend with growing threats to their own energy security, from power cuts to desalinated water loss.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Sedat Suna/Getty Images

Analysis

Energy storage keeps Turkey stable, but long war risks fragile economy

Turkey avoids an immediate energy crunch thanks to storage and diversified supply, but soaring prices and prolonged disruption threaten inflation.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

A handing over of command ceremony at Union III Camp in the Green Zone of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on May 22, 2025.

Turkey confirms Iraq troop withdrawal as NATO pulls back due to Iran war

The confirmation of the withdrawal came as part of NATO’s decision to withdraw its forces in its Iraq mission amid Iran war.

Latest News

Analysis

Iran's first strike on Iraqi Kurdish forces since war began a warning to US allies

An Iranian Kurdish peshmerga member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran inspects the damage sustained at the Azadi Camp following an Iranian cross-border attack in the town of Koye, east of Erbil district, on March 3, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Exclusive

Iraqi oil flows to Turkey after US pledges role in Baghdad-Kurds customs dispute

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

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Exclusive

Dana Gas evacuates Khor Mor staff in Iraq's Kurdistan Region after Iran threats

A picture shows smoke billowing from the Central Production Facility 1 gas refinery in Iraq's southern Maysan province on May 29, 2022.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Desperate to sell its oil, Iraq turns to Turkey amid standoff with Kurds

An Iraqi oil tanker waits at the Khawr Abd Allah canal leading up to Al-Faw port in southern Iraq, on June 6, 2024.

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

Policemen operate a checkpoint in Baghdad October 17, 2011. As U.S. troops prepare to withdraw from Iraq, Baghdad security officials believe Iraqi forces are now more capable of containing violence, and plan to steadily cut back on checkpoints by around 50 percent and remove the blast walls in the city by the beginning of next year before reviewing the security situation again. Picture taken October 17, 2011. To match feature IRAQ-BAGHDAD/ REUTERS/Mahmoud Raouf Mahmoud (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST

Iraq: Tinted Cars and Ghost-like Officials

Iraqi officials and influential figures often distance themselves from average citizens, hiding behind tinted car windows and under the protection of extensive security details.

A Kurdish female fighter from the Popular Protection Units (YPG) carries a walkie-talkie as she stands near fellow fighters carrying their weapons and using binoculars in the Kurdish town of Ifrin, in Aleppo's countryside October 14, 2013. Kurds comprise around 10 percent of Syria's 23 million population. They are concentrated in Ifrin and other areas of the northwest, in parts of Damascus and in the northeastern oil producing area of Qamishli, where there has also been intense fighting between Kurds and al

Syrian Kurds Beset by Divisions

Syrian Kurds are resisting efforts by Iraqi Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani to exert influence over their movement.

Kurdish security forces react after a bomb attack in the city of Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region, about 350 km (217 miles) north of Baghdad, September 29, 2013. Six people were killed on Sunday in a series of explosions outside a security directorate in the capital of Iraq's usually peaceful autonomous Kurdistan region, security and medical sources said. Gunfire could be heard after the blasts in Arbil that wounded a further 36 people, according to the city's health directorate. The vi

KRG Responds to Article On Terrorist Bombing in Erbil

In a letter to the editor, a director in the office of the Kurdistan Regional Government's Representation to the US, Karwan Zebari, responds to Denise Natali's Al-Monitor article "Prison Break, Suicide, Bombing, Rock Iraqi Kurdistan."

Citizen ambassador.jpg

Iraqi Youth Initiative Combats Sectarianism

Citizenship Ambassadors aims to bring together youths from Iraq's various religious and ethnic communities and regional affiliations to combat the escalating sectarian conflict in the country.

A weapons dealer checks AK-47 rifles before selling it to smugglers transferring it to Syria, at his house near the city of Mosul, 390km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, February 16, 2012. The weapons dealers sell a rifle for about $1000. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CONFLICT) - RTR2XY8B

Smugglers Easily Cross Iraq’s Border

Despite the efforts of Iraq and the six countries bordering it, Iraq’s borders are easily navigated by professional smugglers.

Syrian refugees, who fled the violence in Syria, are seen at a school that functions as a shelter for Syrian Kurdish refugees at Qushtapa at the outskirts of the city of Arbil in Iraq's Kurdistan region, August 23, 2013. The number of Syrian children forced to flee their devastated homeland reached 1 million on August 23, 2013, half of all the refugees driven abroad by a conflict that shows no sign of ending, the United Nations said. Another two million Syrian minors are uprooted within their country where

New Iraqi Association Strives To Help Unmarried Women

"Single Women" recently opened its doors in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region to assist unmarried women who have traditionally been neglected by society.

A fan wearing a Ghostface mask from Scream holds an Iraqi flag during Iraq's international friendly soccer match against Syria at Baghdad's Shaab stadium March 26, 2013. Iraq will be allowed to play friendly matches at home again following approval from soccer's world governing body FIFA on Thursday. Iraq were banned from playing all games at home for security reasons after losing a World Cup qualifier 2-0 to Jordan at the Franso Hariri Stadium in Arbil in September 2011. The reprieve does not apply to Worl

Soccer Decision Fuels Sense of Iraqi Victimhood

Given the inextricable relationship between sports and politics in Iraq, a decision by the Gulf states to move the 2013 Gulf Cup of Nations out of Basra has hit a personal note with Iraqi politicians.

A man looks at a car on fire at the site of a bomb attack in Baghdad October 7, 2013. Bombs exploded across the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 22 people, police said. Five of the six blasts were in mainly Shi'ite Muslim districts, but there was also an explosion in the predominantly Sunni Muslim neighborhood of Doura. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX142ZK

The Crisis of Moral Decline in Iraqi Society

Following years of violence and despotic rule, Iraqis have lost a sense of moral responsibility toward society, something that must urgently be addressed to provide security and reach lasting solutions.

Iraq's Morgues Overwhelmed By Surge in Terror Attacks

The recent surge in suicide attacks has started overwhelming Iraq’s morgues, even though the country has become experienced in dealing with large numbers of deaths given its numerous wars since 1980.

Iraqi security forces and people stand at the site of a car bomb attack in Basra, 420 km (261 miles) southeast of Baghdad, October 13, 2013. A series of bombs killed at least ten people in mostly Shi'ite Muslim provinces of Iraq on Sunday ahead of the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha, police and medical sources said. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS CRIME LAW) - RTX149QD

Iraq Plays Politics with Security As Elections Approach

Iraqi politicians treat security as an electoral matter, while security disintegrates throughout the country.

An Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim boy kisses a poster of the Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in the town of Karbala, some 110 km south from the Iraqi capital Baghdad, early February 6, 2004. Iraq's most powerful Shi'ite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, survived an assassination bid on Thursday when gunmen opened fire on his entourage in the sacred streets of Najaf, a security aide said. The assassination attempt comes days before a team of United Nations electoral experts is due to arrive in the country to assess the feasi

Sistani Issues Fatwa Against Sectarian Violence in Iraq

Amid rising sectarian rhetoric and violence in Iraq, Iraqi Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has issued a fatwa condemning anti-Sunni violence.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani speaks at a news conference following his meeting with Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance and USAID Administrator Ambassador Randall L. Tobias in the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad May 25, 2006. REUTERS/Ali Haider/Pool - RTR1DQND

Talabani's Party Stung by Loss In Iraqi Kurdistan Elections

The upcoming meeting of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan in January 2014 may be an opportunity to elect new leadership.