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Iraq

March 8, 2026

Baghdad 4:46 am

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Kurdish Peshmerga fighters affiliated with PAK train on Jan. 18, 2026, near Erbil, Iraq.

Why Israel's looking to Kurds to make gains against Iran regime

Israeli-Kurdish relations are rooted in a common struggle against Islamic extremism and the Kurds’ strategic presence across Turkey, Syria and Iran.

Osama Al Maqdoni / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

CIA, Mossad bolster Iran’s Kurds as US, Israel seek to ignite military revolt

Israel hopes Iran’s Kurds, and other minorities, will mobilize to help bring down the Iranian regime.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

A picture from the formation of the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan on Feb. 22, 2026.

Which 6 Kurdish groups could join the war in Iran?

Iranian Kurdish groups that recently formed an alliance could soon join the United States and Israel in their campaign against the Islamic Republic, Al-Monitor has learned.

A member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) participates in a military drill in an outpost near Erbil, Kurdistan region of Iraq on Jan. 15, 2026.

Exclusive

US-backed Kurdish forces poised to enter Iran from Iraqi Kurdistan 'within days'

The CIA has reportedly been in contact with Iranian Kurdish armed groups since last year, as Israel has pressed for Kurdish engagement.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Analysis

Kurds see opening yet remain wary as Trump seeks help to oust Iran regime

An Iranian Kurdish Peshmerga member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) inspects damage sustained at the Azadi Camp of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) following an Iranian cross-border attack in the town of Koye (Koysinjaq), in the east of Erbil district in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq on March 3, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with the killing of Iran's supreme leader and the Islamic republic retaliated with barr

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Turkey to repatriate its ISIS fighters from Iraq as jihadis escalate Syria attacks

Women and children seen inside al-Hol camp, amongst them some 6,200 women and children from around 40 nationalities, and including relatives of suspected Islamic State jihadists in the desert region of Hasakah province on Jan. 25, 2026 in Al Hasakah, Syria.

Here is what to know about Kuwait-Iraq maritime dispute

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq.

US envoy Barrack oversees Chevron deal in Iraq amid Iran influence row

Barrack Sudani

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

This picture taken on Sept. 26, 2021 shows an electoral campaign billboard ahead of Iraq's early legislative elections, depicting current parliament speaker Mohamed al-Halbousi, along the side of a road in the city of Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's central Anbar Governorate.

Iraqi parliament speaker’s home targeted amid power plays

At least three rockets landed near a residence of the Iraqi parliament speaker in his native Anbar region on Tuesday as political wrangling, disappearances and threats from Iran-linked militias continue.

Iraq Halbousi

Iraqi Federal Court rejects appeal to nullify selection of parliament speaker

The selection of parliament speaker has been upheld as the federal court rejected the request of the Coordination Framework to cancel the process.

A picture taken Oct. 26, 2021, shows the Darbandikhan Dam after the water level had fallen by 7.5 meters in one year, in northeastern Iraq.

Iran, Iraq exchange accusations over water flow

Iraq is planning to complain to the International Court of Justice about the drop in water flow from Iran.

Mourners carry the casket of one of eleven Iraqi soldiers, killed in an overnight attack by the Islamic State (IS) group against a base in eastern Iraq, through a street in the central holy shrine city of Najaf, on Jan. 21, 2022.

Islamic State escalates violence across Baghdad Belt

Terrorist attacks increase as Iraq continues government formation process.

Diyala funeral

Islamic State wipes out entire army outpost in Iraq’s Diyala

The latest major Islamic State attack in Iraq left 11 dead, including soldiers and their commanding officer, at an army outpost in a restive area northeast of Baghdad.

Members of the PKK are pictured during a peaceful protest against ongoing attacks against Yazidis in northern Iraq, on Aug. 16, 2014, in Hanover, Germany.

Iraqi army boots PKK-linked leader’s statue from Sinjar, arrests fighters

The Iraqi army has arrested several fighters from a PKK-linked Yazidi faction operating in Sinjar as part of an attempt to get them to abide by an accord signed in 2020 for greater stability and security.

Iraqi women ready to board a coach, part of a convoy, heading south of the Iraqi city of Karbala some 120 kilometers (74 miles) from the capital Baghdad, toward the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca, Nov. 22, 2008.

Iraq moves forward with building pilgrim route to Saudi Arabia

The Iraqi government is showing interest in completing the pilgrim route linking Iraq and Saudi Arabia, which will facilitate the arrival of religious visitor convoys between the two countries and will enhance trade and political relations.

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Islamic State stages Syria prison break, kills 11 soldiers in Iraq

The Islamic State attacked an Iraqi army barracks and a prison holding jihadists in Kurdish-run northeast Syria overnight.

Hasakah prison

Prison housing Iraqi, Syrian IS inmates attacked in Syria

Detention facilities under US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces were hit by a major attack attempting to free the thousands within.

Iraqis play at the snow-covered Safin Mountain on Jan. 18, 2022, near the city of Erbil, the capital of Iraq's northern Kurdish autonomous region.

Rare snowstorm hits Iraq and Syria

Many people in the Kurdistan Region rejoiced while playing in the snow, but such conditions can be dangerous for others, especially those living in displaced people camps.

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

US diplomacy prompts Iraqi Kurds to allow aid through sealed Syrian border crossing

The Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq has agreed to open one crossing between its territory and northeast Syria twice a month for the passage of vital aid.

Iraq's Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi (R) visits the army headquarters in Tarmiya, 35 kilometers north of Baghdad, on Feb. 20, 2021.

Strikes on Baghdad Belt IS cells overshadowed by militia attacks

Recent airstrikes on areas close to the Iraqi capital as well as the killing of Islamic State fighters there have received scant attention as Iran-linked groups continue to carry out persistent attacks.