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

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Iraq

March 10, 2026

Baghdad 8:08 am

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The sun sets behind burning gas flares at the Dora Oil Refinery Complex in Baghdad on Nov. 24, 2025.

Exclusive

Baghdad, US turn to Iraqi Kurds for oil exports as Iran war hits supplies

Baghdad wants Kurdish pipelines to move up to 200,000 barrels per day to global markets, but Erbil is demanding relief from a dollar embargo and greater autonomy over trade.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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.

Latest News

Exclusive

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

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.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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.

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

Funeral for Turkish soldier

Turkish soldier in Iraq killed fighting PKK

The deadly attack took place in the autonomous Kurdistan Region near the Turkish border, and followed the deaths of two Turkish soldiers in Syria over the weekend.

US President Joe Biden (R) hosts Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi for a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office at the White House, Washington, July 26, 2021.

Iraq's military disputes militia claim about drone attack

The Imam Ali Division militia claimed two drones attacked one of its storage facilities near Najaf.

Iraqis attend a funeral for an Iraqi family killed in an explosion a day earlier in a popular market in the Shiite-majority Sadr City neighborhood, east of the capital, Baghdad, on July 20, 2021.

Militias call for revenge against Sunni town over suicide attacks in Baghdad

The suicide attack on the Shiite-dominated Sadr City district of Baghdad on July 19 that killed at least 35 people has led some pro-Iran militias to demand vengeance against Sunnis near Baghdad.

US President Joe Biden meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi (L) in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, July 26, 2021.

Biden announces end to US combat mission in Iraq

Following a White House meeting today between US President Joe Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the two side announced an agreement that the US combat mission in Iraq will end by Dec. 31, 2021.

Iraqi Aqeel Hassan, part owner of private electric generators, is pictured on July 17, 2021, at his business in Baghdad's Sadr City district.

Amid Iranian gas shortage, Iraq searches for alternatives

Iran's dilapidated gas infrastructure has limited its transfers to Iraq, adding to Iraq's own energy crisis.

Fuad Hussein and Antony Blinken

Iraq still needs US help to defeat Islamic State, foreign minister says

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein made the remarks ahead of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s visit to Washington on Monday.

Muweis canal of Nile River in northern Egypt

How water has become a flashpoint in the Middle East

Al-Monitor reporting shows the increased risks and relevance of water security for Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia; Iran and Iraq; and Israel and Jordan.

This handout picture released by the US Army shows US Army Paratroopers at Pope Army Airfield in North Carolina, Jan. 1, 2020. Paratroopers from 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division were activated and deployed to the US Central Command area of operations in Iraq.

Intel: US to announce agreement to pull 'combat troops' from Iraq

Security will be at top of agenda for US-Iraq Strategic Dialogue today, and when US President Joe Biden hosts Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on July 26.

Iraqi workers walk at the Halfaya oil field near the southern city of Amara on Dec. 12, 2009.

Chinese oil companies fill void in Iraq

As major Western oil companies reconsider their positions in Iraq, China is seizing the opportunities offered by their departure.

Sadr City market explosion site

Baghdad explosion kills at least 28 in busy Sadr City market

The attack occurred in a crowded marketplace as residents were shopping for the holiday of Eid al-Adha.

Iraq electrical wires

Iraq takes cautious steps toward privatizing electricity sector

With the increasing power cuts in Iraq, calls are mounting to expand privatization as a permanent solution.

Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr (R) drives a car as he joins anti-government demonstrators gathering in the holy city of Najaf, Iraq, Oct. 29, 2019.

Sadr withdraws from Iraqi elections

Populist cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has withdrawn from Iraq's October elections, removing his support for the government.