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

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Iraq

March 31, 2026

Baghdad 12:42 pm

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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

Iraqi Kurdistan Minister Addresses Syria, Refugee Crisis

An exclusive interview with Minister Falah Mustafa Bakir, head of the Department of Foreign Relations of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq.

Iraqi soldier stands guard at Umm Qasr's port near Basra, 420 km (260 miles) southeast of Baghdad July 10, 2009. Unions are lobbying against Iraq's new oil contract with BP and China's CNPC, but the weakened labour movement may have a hard time thwarting deals desperately needed to revive a struggling oil sector. Picture taken July 10, 2009. REUTERS/Atef Hassan (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS ENERGY) - RTR25MGP

Iraq’s Faw Port Project Faces Continued Setbacks

Iraq’s Grand Faw Port, planned to be one of the largest maritime ports in the gulf region, has been stalled due to political disputes.

Newly married Iraqi couples arrive at a hotel for a mass wedding reception in central Baghdad, 07 December 2007. Around 70 couples celebrated their wedding today together at a hotel in central Baghdad. AFP PHOTO/ALI YUSSEF (Photo credit should read ALI YUSSEF/AFP/Getty Images)

Iraqi Women Victimized By Tribal Marriage Customs

In patriarchal and tribal Iraq, thousands of women are forced into unwanted marriages with little to no legal recourse.

Protesters demand that the pensions of parliamentarians be cancelled during a demonstration in Kerbala, 110 km (68 miles) south of Baghdad, August 31, 2013. Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Baghdad and central and southern Iraq on Saturday against generous pension payments to lawmakers in a county where many are still struggling to get jobs and basic services. REUTERS/Mushtaq Muhammed (IRAQ - Tags - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT SOCIETY CIVIL UNREST) - RTX132KM

New Iraqi Protest Movement Targets Corrruption

Overall dissatisfaction with the Iraqi government promises to overcome sectarian, ethnic and political rifts and pave the way for the emergence of a potentially effective protest movement.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani (R) speaks with Kurdish President Masoud Barazani (L) during his visit to Dokan, 290 km (180 miles) northeast of Baghdad July 29, 2009. Ruling parties in Iraqi Kurdistan will retain control of the Kurdish parliament after weekend polls, preliminary results showed on Wednesday. An opposition movement, campaigning against corruption and for political reforms, took a surprise 23.8 percent, electoral officials said in the Kurdish capital Arbil. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari (IRAQ POLITICS

KDP May Run Alone In Iraqi Kurdistan Elections

The two major parties in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq have shared power since 2005, but some believe that President Massoud Barzani and his party are planning to go it alone following upcoming parliamentary elections.

Iraqi Sunni Muslims chant "Allahu Akbar", meaning God is great, during an anti-government demonstration in the central city of Samarra, May 17, 2013. Tens of thousands of Sunni Muslims poured onto the streets of Ramadi and Falluja in the western province of Anbar following Friday prayers, in their biggest show of strength since the outbreak of protests last year. REUTERS/Bakr al-Azzawi (IRAQ - Tags - Tags: RELIGION POLITICS) - RTXZQH6

Iraqi Sheikh Faces Divisions Within Sunni Community

Sheikh Abdul-Malik al-Saadi seeks to balance support for protests with opposition to a Sunni federal region in Iraq.

Arab foreign ministers arrive to an emergency meeting to discuss the Syrian crisis and the potential military strike on President Bashar al-Assad's regime, at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, September 1, 2013. Saudi Arabia told fellow Arab League states on Sunday that opposing international intervention against the Syrian government would only encourage Damascus to use weapons of mass destruction. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX1341M

Middle East Alliances More Tangled Than Ever

The alliances of regional countries are based on seemingly contradictory interests.

Iraqi security forces stand inside a Sunni mosque at the site of a suicide bomber attack in the town of Wajihiya in the ethnically and religiously diverse province of Diyala, July 20, 2013. A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a Sunni mosque in central Iraq, killing at least 20 people in the middle of a sermon on Friday. REUTERS Mohammed Adnan (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTX11SM4

Traumatic Memories Mar Baghdad Neighborhoods

Violence and terrorism have left many Iraqis with post-traumatic stress associated with specific areas of Baghdad they continue to associate with a violent event.

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

Ayatollah Sistani and The Battle of Najaf

A book by an aide to Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani reveals new details about the 2004 Battle of Najaf.

Women hold posters of Shi'ite Iranian cleric Ayatollah Khomeini to commemorate the Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day and to show support for the Palestinians, during a rally in Basra, 550 km (340 miles) south of Baghdad, October 20, 2006. REUTERS/Atef Hassan (IRAQ) - RTR1IIUAi

Iraq’s Identity Crisis in Symbols

In an increasingly divided Iraq, disputes have broken out regarding the use of photography and symbolism that reinforces sectarian, rather than national, affiliations.

The Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu addresses his supporters during his party's congress in Ankara February 26, 2012. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2YGY0

Erdogan Criticizes Opposition Leader For Visits to Iraq, Egypt

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan feverishly criticizes main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu for his travels to Baghdad and Cairo.

Syrian refugees look out from their tent at a refugee camp in al-Qaim, Anbar province, September 8, 2012. Al Qaim, in the Sunni heartland of Anbar province, reflects the tricky balancing act Iraq's Shi'ite leaders face in Syria, whose crisis is testing the Middle East's sectarian divide. Al Qaim and its neighbouring Syrian counterpart Albu Kamal are on a strategic supply route for smugglers, gun-runners and now insurgents aiming to join the rebellion. Picture taken September 8, 2012. To match Feature SYRIA-

Iraq Needs Unity to Deal with Syria Crisis

As foreign military intervention in Syria grows more imminent, the Iraqi authorities would do well to set aside their internal differences and take the necessary precautions should its neighbor’s conflict spill over onto its territory.