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Iraq

March 10, 2026

Baghdad 4:11 pm

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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

Saudi and Iranian flags

Iraqi president confirms Baghdad hosted Saudi-Iranian talks 'more than once'

President Barham Salih said the first round of talks occurred in early April, which he described as 'important and significant.'

An Iraqi man rides his bicycle past a closed mosque in Baghdad on Feb. 19, 2021, as authorities reimposed partial lockdown measures until early March after detecting a new strain of the coronavirus.

Iraq announces 10-day lockdown amid virus surge

Iraq, which is struggling to vaccinate its population, recently topped 1 million coronavirus cases.

SABAH ARAR/AFP via Getty Images

Iraqi authorities nab Islamic State 'governor' of Fallujah

Abu Ali al-Jumaili's arrest comes as Kurdish-led forces captured another IS official across the border in Syria.

Nasiriyah protesters

Iraqi political parties woo celebrities for election campaign

Some of Iraq’s political parties seek to bring mass media celebrities on board for the upcoming legislative elections.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu delivers a speech during a press conference in Ankara April 22, 2019.

Turkey to establish new military base in Iraqi Kurdistan

Ankara has announced that Turkey will establish a military base in the mountainous area of Metina, near the Turkish border, in what critics consider a step toward controlling Iraqi Kurdistan.

Iraqi police protect Turkish embassy against protest

Turkish forces in fresh offensive against PKK in Iraqi Kurdistan

The latest Turkish military operation against the PKK in Iraqi Kurdistan comes at a time when Ankara finds itself increasingly under strain, both on the domestic front and in its frosty ties with Washington.

Women pose for a selfie after attending a performance by the Watar orchestral ensemble playing for the first time at the Spring Theater Hall, which was ravaged in the aftermath of the occupation by the Islamic State, Mosul, Iraq, April 8, 2021.

Mosul women fight Islamic State legacy with sports, arts events

Mosul women seek to erase their painful memories of IS by holding various activities for women.

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images

Baghdad airport hit in latest Iraq rocket strike, no injuries

The strike follows a drone attack on a coalition site at Erbil Air Base last week.

Iraqis attend a conference gathering Shiite and Sunni tribal leaders and clerics on November 8, 2014, in the capital, Baghdad, to discuss support to Sunni tribes in their fight against the Islamist State (IS) in Anbar province, west of Baghdad.

Anbar tribes key to security, political backing ahead of Iraq's October vote

Following the introduction of a new electoral law and with many of the region’s population still looking more toward their tribes for protection than the central government, Iraq’s Sunni-dominant Anbar province is likely to be highly affected by tribal relations and figures in the October elections.

Alex Wong/Getty Images

No plans for full US withdrawal from Iraq, top general says

The United States may be leaving Afghanistan but troops will remain in Iraq for the foreseeable future, the CENTCOM commander told Congress.

HAIDAR MOHAMMED ALI/AFP via Getty Images

Iran welcomes Iraqi mediation with Gulf states

No clear results yet, said Tehran's ambassador in Baghdad after reports of Saudi-Iran dialogue.

In this handout provided by the EU Delegation in Vienna, Representatives of the European Union, Iran and others attend the Iran nuclear talks at the Grand Hotel on April 15, 2021, in Vienna, Austria.

Saudi Arabia, Iran held direct talks in bid to ease tensions

Talks between the two countries were organized by Iraq's Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.