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

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Iraq

April 1, 2026

Baghdad 12:54 am

13°C

An undated image of Shelly Kittleson.

AL-MONITOR calls for release of contributor Shelly Kittleson

An undated image of Shelly Kittleson.

American journalist Shelly Kittleson abducted in Iraq

The State Department said a suspect taken into custody by Iraqi authorities had ties to Kataib Hezbollah.

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

Latest News

Analysis

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

Sedat Suna/Getty Images

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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

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

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

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

An elderly Iraqi man on a wheelchair receives help as he votes during Iraq's provincial elections at a polling station in Mosul, 390 km (242 miles) north of Baghdad, June 20, 2013. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousuly (IRAQ - Tags: ELECTIONS POLITICS) - RTX10UKC

Iraqi Politicians Need to Reconnect With Society

Iraqi politicians local election campaigns are out of touch with the needs of the people.

Residents gather at the Shabandar Cafe in Baghdad May 12, 2012. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ - Tags: SOCIETY) - RTR31XYG

Baghdad Cafe Raids Put Sadr on the Spot

The recent attacks and closures of cafes in the Karada neighborhood of Baghdad have served to shake the solid footing Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is attempting to establish in the city’s local government.

An investor speaks on the phone during trading hours at the Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX) in Baghdad, April 2, 2013. Last month's scene at the headquarters of the Baghdad bourse revealed the struggle which Iraq faces to modernise its financial system: it must overcome primitive, ultra-conservative savings habits born of decades of war and political instability. Picture taken April 2, 2013. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ - Tags: BUSINESS) - RTXY6UX

Iraqi Officials Divided Over Dinar 'Reset'

Various bodies within the Iraqi government are debating the implications of a move to “reset” the national currency by deleting three zeros from it.

Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari attends the Arab League foreign ministers meeting in Baghdad March 28, 2012. REUTERS/Saad Shalash (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2ZZVG

Iraq Rebuilds Ties to Saudi Arabia

After years of misunderstandings and tensions, relations between Iraq and Saudi Arabia have begun to warm up.

Posters of late Shi'ite Mehdi Army members are displayed on their graves in a Sadrist cemetery in the holy city of Najaf, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad September 13, 2008. Forced off Iraq streets and with diminished political clout, what anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and his Mehdi Army militia do next will be crucial if they are to remain relevant. Picture taken September 13, 2008. To match feature IRAQ/SADR REUTERS/Ceerwan Aziz (IRAQ) - RTX8SVI

The Rise of 'Cleric Militias' in Iraq

In recent years, Iraq has witnessed a rise in militias led by Shiite clerics, with some fearing that Sunnis may soon follow suit, thus exacerbating the regional sectarian conflict.

A Free Syrian Army member inspects his weapon beside a checkpoint to siege the Kurdish city of Afrin, which is under the control of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), in the Aleppo countryside June 30, 2013. REUTERS/Hamid Khatib (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX117H8

The Struggle for Syrian Kurdistan

Al-Monitor covers Syrian Kurdistan, the rebel siege of Aleppo, maids in Saudi Arabia and the Iraqi sex trade.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki speaks during the opening ceremony of the Defence University for Military Studies inside Baghdad's heavily-fortified Green Zone June 17, 2012. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS) - RTR33R99

Iraqi Religious Leaders Nix Maliki's Electoral Plans

Shiite authorities in Najaf have sided with the prime minister's oppenents over the country's new electoral law, hampering Maliki’s chances of dominating the next government.

Syrian Kurds Prepare For Self-Governance

The PKK-affiliated Democratic Union Party is consulting the political parties of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq on plans to form an interim government for Kurdish-controlled enclaves in Syria.

An oil tanker passes through the Bosphorus to the Black Sea in Istanbul September 1, 2012. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: ENERGY MARITIME) - RTR37D2S

Turkey Adds Fuel to Fight Of Iraqi Kurds for Independence

Despite Turkey’s age-old fear of Kurdish independence in contiguous regions near its border, energy ties are growing between Turkey and Iraq's Kurdistan Region.

People sit outside a cafe in Baghdad December 1, 2011. The last 13,000 U.S. troops will pull out of Iraq by the end of the year. Violence in the country has dropped sharply since the heights of sectarian slaughter in 2006-2007, but at least 10 people were killed in a bombing just north of the capital Baghdad. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton (IRAQ - Tags: MILITARY CONFLICT SOCIETY) - RTR2UPPL

New Religious Campaign Targets Baghdad's Cafes

Authorities in Baghdad have begun to encroach on personal freedoms, closing cafes even when they only serve coffee and tea after Ramadan fasting is over.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (R) and Iraqi Kurdish President Masoud Barzani (L) talk as they hold a joint news conference in Baghdad, July 7, 2013. Barzani visited Baghdad on Sunday for the first time in more than two years, in a symbolic step to resolve disputes between the central government and the autonomous region over land and oil. The visit follows an equally rare trip by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki who met Barzani in Kurdistan last month, breaking ice between leaders who have repeated

Iraqi MP: Maliki, Barzani Close to Solving Oil Dispute

Rapport between Baghdad and Erbil seems relatively warm as the two governments continue to settle oil disputes.

Members of Hezbollah Iraq carry the coffin of their comrade Reza Khudair al-Khalidi, who was also a Shi'ite fighter and killed in clashes with the Free Syrian Army, during his funeral in Kerbala, 110 km (70 miles) south of Baghdad, June 5, 2013. Hundreds of Iraqis attended the funeral on Thursday, and relatives of Khalidi said he was killed while fighting on the outskirts of the border town of Qusair. REUTERS/Mushtaq Muhammed (IRAQ - Tags: CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTX10CYT

Leader of Hezbollah in Iraq Threatens More Sectarian Violence

The leader of Hezbollah in Iraq, Wathiq al-Battat, continues to amp up talk of Shiites exacting revenge against al-Qaeda and Baathists.