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Iraq

August 13, 2026

Baghdad 1:09 am

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The commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Esmail Qaani, speaks during a commemoration ceremony marking the anniversary of the 2020 killing of Guards general Qasem Soleimani (on screen) in the capital Tehran on Jan. 3, 2024.

Analysis

What Qaani's Baghdad visit reveals about Iran's post-war dilemma

The Quds Force commander's Baghdad visit is occurring as Iran faced difficult choices in Iraq where the government is moving to bring powerful armed groups under state control after the recent war.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Qaani

IRGC chief Qaani reportedly in Iraq ahead of militia deadline

Esmail Qaani, who heads the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, has been heavily involved in Iran’s relations with Iraqi militias.

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

Latest News

Iraqi Kurdish president’s meeting with Syria’s Sharaa signals shift in SDF dynamics

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa meets with Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani in Damascus, Aug. 3, 2026. IKRPresident/X

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

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

$Members of the new Iraqi Parliament attend a session at the Parliament headquarters in Baghdad, November 11, 2010. Iraq's fractious politicians have agreed to return Shi'ite Nuri al-Maliki as prime minister, ending an eight-month deadlock that raised fears of renewed sectarian war, but leaving some Sunnis sceptical he can forge national unity. The pact on top government posts brings together Shi'ites, Sunnis and Kurds in a power-sharing arrangement similar to the last Iraqi government and could help prevent$

Iraqi Politicians Push For More Power to Provinces

The Iraqi parliament’s passing of the Provincial Powers Law has led to calls for the establishment of the Federation Council, which would further decentralize power as stipulated in the 2005 constitution.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.

Iranian clerics talk to each other during break time at a religious conference centre in Qom, 120 km (75 miles) south of Tehran, March 9, 2011. The clerics are attending the International Conference of Religious Doctrines and the Mind-Body Problem. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN - Tags: RELIGION SOCIETY) - RTR2JNWP

Shiite Seminaries in Najaf, Qom Struggle With Dual Roles

Shiite seminaries in Najaf and Qom struggle to balance between preserving Shiite identity, while at the same time maintaining their distance from any sectarian conflict and supporting Islamic unity.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (R) meets with Iraqi Kurdish President Masoud Barzani (L) 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 repeatedly accused each other of violating

Barzani's Goodwill Baghdad Tour

Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, met with Baghdad's key political leaders in an attempt to generate consensus and compromise.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (centre L) attends a meeting with Iraqi heads of parliamentary blocs at the parliament house in Baghdad, December 6, 2012. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3B9XR

Iraqi Law to Reform Political Financing Blocked in Parliament

The Iraqi Council of Representatives is blocking a law that would create financial transparency for financing political parties.

Iraq's Parliament Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi (R) meets with Iraqi Kurdish President Masoud Barzani (L) 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 repeatedly accused each other of vi

Iraqi Kurdish Parties Dispute Law Extending Barzani Presidency

Due to its general disregard for the internal bylaws of the Iraqi Kurdistan region’s parliament, members of President Massoud Barzani’s party and the opposition both have objected to a law extending his term.

Female members of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi with a drum and flags shout slogans as they rally at the Rabaa Adawiya square, where they are camping at, in Cairo July 11, 2013. Political infighting threatened to stall Egypt's transition plans on Thursday, as the military cracked down on Muslim Brotherhood leaders it blames for inciting a clash in Cairo in which troops shot and killed 53 protesters. Monday's violence between supporters of Mursi, Egypt's fi

Iraqi Kurdistan's Islamist Parties Condemn Egyptian Coup

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq’s Islamist parties consider the coup that ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi a setback for democracy.

A customer shops for clothes at a clothing store in Baghdad's Karrada district August 14, 2012. Iraq relies on imports from neighbours like Syria, Turkey and Iran for 95 percent of its consumer goods. Syria in particular is a key supplier of manufactured goods, fresh vegetables and fruit. But as an uprising there against President Bashar al-Assad grinds through its 17th month, the supply of Syrian goods to Iraq is slowly drying up as Syrian businesses are forced to close and trucks struggle to cross borders

Baghdad Delays New Iraqi Customs Law

As disagreements persist with Erbil, Baghdad has requested that an unimplemented customs tariff law be postponed in what some see as a bid to buy time for tensions to cool.

Demonstrators hold Kurdish flags and portraits of jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan during a gathering to celebrate Newroz in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir March 21, 2013. Jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan ordered his fighters on Thursday to cease fire and withdraw from Turkish soil as a step to ending a conflict that has killed 40,000 people, riven the country and battered its economy. Hundreds of thousands of Kurds gathered in the regional centre of Diyarb

Turkish-Kurdish Peace Process Poorly Managed

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan needs to address the trauma resulting from the fight against PKK terror for over three decades.

A resident buys a newspaper from a kiosk in Baghdad February 23, 2009. A boom in local media since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 has given Iraqis a choice between some 200 print outlets, 60 radio stations and 30 TV channels in Arabic, Turkmen, Syriac and two Kurdish dialects. Yet most media outlets remain dominated by sectarian and party patrons who use them for their own ends, and have yet to become commercially sustainable enterprises let alone watchdogs keeping government under scrutiny, the favoured Wes

Iraqi Parliament Puts Controversial Media Law on Hold

Due to controversial wording in its draft and a general outcry from the country’s media community, Iraq has not passed its Communications and Media Commission law.

Supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi shout anti-army slogans during a protest in Cairo July 9, 2013. Egypt's interim President Adli Mansour on Tuesday named liberal economist and former finance minister Hazem el-Beblawi as prime minister in a transitional government, as the authorities sought to steer the country to new parliamentary and presidential elections. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX11HY6

Iran, Iraq React Differently to Morsi's Fall

A comparison of the Iraqi and Iranian reactions to the situation in Egypt shows a profound difference in their perspectives on democracy.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (R) shakes hands with Iraqi Kurdish President Masoud Barzani (L) 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 repeatedly accused each other of vi

What are Egypt's Lessons for Iraq?

Having less to do with regional sectarian Sunni-Shiite disputes, Iraq’s political players should focus on the failure of political Islam in their analyses of the June 30 events in Egypt.

A resident walks past election campaign posters on Baghdad's Saadoun street January 3, 2009. The January 31 local election will apportion 440 seats on local councils that in turn name powerful regional governors. REUTERS/Saad Shalash (IRAQ) - RTR230LK

Iraqi Provincial Law Renews Debate Over Centralization

Whether Iraq’s various regions and provinces should be governed in a more centralized or decentralized manner continues as the focal point of political conflict in the country.