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Iraq

August 13, 2026

Baghdad 2:14 pm

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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

Employees of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) take part in vote counting at an analysis center in Baghdad April 23, 2013. Voter participation in Iraq's provincial election on Saturday was 50 percent of eligible voters, the country's electoral authorities said after poll stations closed. Election officials said including results from a special vote a week earlier for members of the armed forces, total participation would be more than 51 percent. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS E

Iraqi Political Blocs Ponder Provincial Election Results

As Iraq’s major political blocs count their gains and losses in the recently held provincial elections, Mustafa al-Kadhimi looks forward to what the future holds for politics in Iraq.

Employees of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) take part in vote counting at an analysis center in Baghdad April 23, 2013. Voter participation in Iraq's provincial election on Saturday was 50 percent of eligible voters, the country's electoral authorities said after poll stations closed. Election officials said including results from a special vote a week earlier for members of the armed forces, total participation would be more than 51 percent. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS E

No Surprises in Early Results For Iraqi Provincial Elections

The results of the latest round of provincial elections in Iraq have failed to defy expectations, with the same political problems persisting, writes Mushreq Abbas.

An employee of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) sits on ballot boxes at a tally center in Baghdad April 23, 2013.Voter participation in Iraq's provincial election on Saturday was 50 percent of eligible voters, the country's electoral authorities said after poll stations closed. Election officials said including results from a special vote a week earlier for members of the armed forces, total participation would be more than 51 percent. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS)

Low Turnout in Iraqi Elections

As most of Iraq’s provinces headed to the polls, low voter turnout, technical errors and some incidents of violence served as reminders of the issues still plaguing Iraqi society, writes Ali Abel Sadah.

A Kurdish boy walks in the village of Sheladiz near the Iraqi-Turkish borders February 27, 2008. Picture taken February 27, 2008. REUTERS/Ceerwan Aziz (IRAQ) - RTR1XP6H

Child-Protection Laws On Table in Iraqi Kurdistan

An innovative law protecting the rights of children and the disabled in Iraqi Kurdistan is to be considered by the regional government, reports Abdel Hamid Zebari.

Members from peace groups gather around a peace sign formed by lighted candles, remembering the tenth anniversary of the Iraq War at Plaza de Catalunya, central Barcelona March 20, 2013. REUTERS/Gustau Nacarino (SPAIN - Tags: CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3F8PV

Iraq's Legislative Crisis

As political and social divisions deepen throughout Iraqi society, Mustafa al-Kadhimi calls attention to the legislative negligence that has allowed this worrying crisis to grow.

Kurdish President Massoud Barzani (R) and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani talk during an event to mark the official start of oil exports from the autonomous region of Kurdistan, in the northern Kurdish city of Arbil June 1, 2009. Iraq's Kurdistan region said on Monday it hoped to be producing 1 million barrels per day of oil within the next 2-3 years, despite discord with the Arab-led government in Baghdad over Iraq's oil wealth. REUTERS/Safin Hamed/Pool (IRAQ CONFLICT ENERGY BUSINESS POLITICS) - RTR245LU

President's Absence Complicates Iraqi Politics

As Iraqi President Jalal Talabani continues to undergo treatment in Berlin, Iraqi leaders are indecisive on how to proceed in his absence, writes Ali Abel Sadah.

A man works at a construction site in Iraq's northern province of Arbil September 25, 2010. While most Iraqis struggle under the detritus of a seven-year war, the people of Arbil in Iraqi Kurdistan can frolic in a public pool, ride an elevated cable car over freshly planted parkland or escape stifling heat in a new ice skating hall. The new luxuries of Iraq's northern Kurdish region seem a world apart from the dust and grit of Baghdad, where suicide bombers are an everyday fear, dirt-gray blast walls domina

Iraqi Kurdistan Open To Arab Investment

New investment projects in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq have led to a strengthening of ties with Arab states, writes Abdel Hamid Zebari.

A client counts his money at Al-Rafidain bank in BaghdadJune 21, 2009. Total bank deposits in February -- the latest figures available -- jumped by half to 36.6 trillion Iraqi dinars ($31 billion) from a year before, and loans surged 65 percent to 5.1 trillion dinars over the same period, central bank data show.
To match feature IRAQ/BANKS REUTERS/Bassim Shati (IRAQ CONFLICT BUSINESS) - RTR2559B

Currency Auctions by Iraq Bank Called Into Question

The Central Bank of Iraq’s practice of auctioning US dollars has come under fire amid suspicion that the practice leads to money laundering and the channeling of dollars to Iran, reports Omar al-Shaher.

Iraqi security forces wait in line to vote, outside a polling station in Basra, 420 km (261 miles) southeast of Baghdad April 13, 2013. Members of the Iraqi security forces head to polling stations on Saturday in Baghdad and other Iraqi provinces to cast their ballot in the 2013 provincial council election. REUTERS/Atef Hassan (IRAQ - Tags: ELECTIONS POLITICS MILITARY) - RTXYK1F

Voter Turnout Uncertain For Iraqi Provincial Elections

It is unclear what the turnout in the upcoming Iraqi provincial elections will be, with some predicting high voter turnout and others widespread apathy, writes Bushra Al Mudhafar.

Iraqi Sunni Muslims take part in an anti-government demonstration in Falluja, 50 km (31 miles) west of Baghdad April 12, 2013. Thousands of Sunni Muslims protested after Friday prayers in huge rallies against Shi'ite Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, demanding that he steps down. The poster (L) reads "Fallujah is spark of the resistance and spark of the revolution". REUTERS/Mohanned Faisal (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST RELIGION POLITICS) - RTXYIVR

Maliki Threatens Political Rivals

As Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s opponents amplify their calls for a parliamentary hearing, he threatens to reveal which of them were involved in acts of terrorism, writes Mushreq Abbas.

Iraqi civil defence personnel and people gather at the site of a bomb attack in Baghdad's northwestern Kadhimiya district January 5, 2012. A set of explosions involving two car bombs in Kadhimiya killed at least 15 people and wounded 32, police and hospital sources said. Bomb attacks targeting Shi'ite Muslim areas of Iraq killed at least 67 people on Thursday, police and hospital sources said, ramping up fears of an increase in sectarian strife. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST CRIME LA

Iraq Pays $300 Million To Terror Victims

Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, violence in Iraq has produced innumerable victims in need of financial compensation, writes Omar al-Shaher.

Residents gather at the site of a car bomb attack in the Kamaliya district in Baghdad April 15, 2013. Car bombs and attacks on cities across Iraq, including two blasts at a checkpoint at Baghdad international airport, killed at least 20 people and wounded more than 200 on Monday, police said. The wave of attacks in Baghdad, Kirkuk, Tuz Khurmato and other towns to the north to south, came days before Iraqis vote in provincial elections that will test political stability more than a year after U.S. troops lef

Iraqi Provincial Elections Bring Wave of Violence, Assassination

Sunni candidates in the upcoming Iraqi elections are being targeted in a recent spate of assassinations, reports Ali Abel Sadah.