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Iraq

August 13, 2026

Baghdad 3:06 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

Saddam Hussein (R) stands with his guards behind him at an artillery
piece during the Iraq-Iran war in this undated file photo. The picture
is among exhibits at The Leader's Museum in Baghdad. British Prime
Minister Tony Blair published a dossier on Iraq's weapons programme on
Tuesday which claimed Saddam could launch weapons of mass destruction
at just 45 minutes' notice and was seeking to build a nuclear
capability. REUETRS/Handout

FK - RTRB072

Iraqi Defense Ministry Asks KRG To Return Saddam-Era Weapons

The Iraqi Ministry of Defense has filed a lawsuit against the Kurdistan Regional Government, claiming that the latter has failed to return Saddam-era weapons and military equipment.

Egyptians carry the coffin of a Shi'ite victim, who was killed in sectarian violence, before funeral prayers in El Sayeda Nafisa Mosque in Cairo, June 24, 2013. Egypt's president, accused of fuelling sectarian hatred, promised swift justice on Monday for a deadly attack on minority Shi'ites as he tried to quell broader factional fighting to avoid a threatened military intervention. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST RELIGION) - RTX10ZDU

Iraqis React to Lynchings in Egypt

The lynching of Shiites in Egypt demonstrates just how far-reaching sectarian tensions in the Middle East and the Arab world have become.

A resident jumps into water for a swim at Ahmed Awa tourist resort, known for its waterfalls, near Iraq's border with Iran where three American hikers are believed to have disappeared, near Sulaimaniyah, 260 km (160 miles) northeast of Baghdad, August 5, 2009. An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Wednesday he could not confirm whether three Americans had been detained by Iran. Picture taken August 5, 2009. REUTERS/Jamal Penjweny (IRAQ CONFLICT TRAVEL) - RTR26G8J

Iraqi Kurdistan Offers Loans to Tourism Sector

To keep up with its quickly growing tourism sector, the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government has begun offering loans to those wishing to build hotels and other touristic facilities.

Nawshirwan Mustafa, an Iraqi Kurdish Politician and the head of Kurdish "Change" opposition movement, shows his ink-stained finger after voting in Sulaimaniya, 260 km (160 miles) northeast of Baghdad March 7, 2010. Explosions killed 24 people as Iraqis voted on Sunday in an election that Sunni Islamist militants have vowed to disrupt, in one of many challenges to efforts to stabilise Iraq before U.S. troops leave. REUTERS/Jamal Penjweny (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR2BBPU

Iraqi Kurdish Opposition Challenges Draft Constitution

With elections slated to take place in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region this fall, opposing political figures have begun to exchange accusations.

Former Iraqi premier and head of the secular Iraqiya coalition, Iyad Allawi (R) holds a joint news conference with Qusay al Suhail, a top figure of the al-Sadr block (L) in Baghdad, August 17, 2010. Allawi said on Tuesday his Sunni-backed Iraqiya alliance would intensify talks with an anti-American Shi'ite movement to try to break a political stalemate. Iraq has been in a political deadlock since a March 7 election which produced no outright winner, raising tensions ahead of an end to U.S. combat operations

Iraqi First Deputy Speaker, From Sadr Bloc, Resigns Amid Queries

The unexpected resignation of Iraqi parliamentary first deputy speaker Qusay al-Suhail has raised questions on all sides of the Iraqi political spectrum.

An Iraqi man casts his vote at a polling station in Baghdad April 20, 2013. Iraqis voted for provincial councils on Saturday in their first ballot since U.S. troops left the country, a key measure of political strength before parliamentary elections next year. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTXYT1T

Iraqis Question Costly Pensions For Parliament Members

Reactions to a draft law from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law Coalition to do away with costly MP pensions are further embroiling the Iraqi political scene in controversy.

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

Iraqi Political Will Lacking For New Electoral Law

Most observers consider it unlikely that Iraq will consider revising its electoral law ahead of the 2014 elections.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (R) speaks next to his Iraqi Kurdish counterpart Nechirvan Barzani during a meeting of the Council of Ministers in Arbil, about 350 km (220 miles) north of Baghdad June 9, 2013. Maliki visited the Kurdistan region on Sunday for the first time in more than two years, in an attempt to resolve a long-running dispute over oil and land that has strained Iraq's unity to the limit. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX10H5T

Iraqi Politicians Find Common Ground Elusive

As Iraq’s political crisis intensifies, political parties should focus on areas of agreement, not escalting differences.

A youth casts his vote into a ballot box during the Iraq's provincial elections at a polling station in Ramadi, 100 km (62 miles) west of Baghdad, June 20, 2013. REUTERS/Ali al-Mashhadani (IRAQ - Tags - Tags: ELECTIONS POLITICS) - RTX10ULM

Maliki’s Losses in Local Elections Reflect Failed Economic Policies

Losses by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law Coalition in recent provincial elections are the result of growing frustration with failed economic policies.

An African-Iraqi woman begs for money on a street in Basra, 420 km (260 miles) southeast of Baghdad December 4, 2008. Inspired by Barack Obama's election in the United States, some black Iraqis plan to run in a forthcoming election, to end what they call centuries of discrimination because of their slave ancestry. Picture taken on December 4. To match feature IRAQ/BLACKS REUTERS/Atef Hassan (IRAQ) - RTR22FNQ

Black Iraqis Struggle To Shake Legacy of Racism

Although Iraqis of African descent have had a significant presence in the country since the days of slave trade, particularly in the port of Basra, this community continues to face racism today, as it has for centuries.

Iraqi Air Force helicopters participate in a flypast ceremony marking the Iraqi Army's 91st anniversary in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone January 6, 2012. REUTERS/Saad Shalash (IRAQ - Tags: MILITARY TRANSPORT ANNIVERSARY) - RTR2VY96

Iraq to Receive Russian Military Helicopters

The Iraqi government is expanding its armed forces.

File photo of Iraqi anti-aircraft fire and tracer flares lighting up the sky
above downtown Baghdad January 17, 1991, as U.S. and allied bombing raids
launched a Gulf War to liberate Kuwait. PP03030031 REUTERS/PATRICK
DE NOIRMONT

AC/CLH/ - RTRCUGB

UN to Decide on Ending Sanctions Against Iraq

The UN Security Council will consider this month whether to remove Iraq from UN Chapter VII regulations, but Iraqi-Kuwaiti relations still require permanent solutions to overcome the past.