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Iraq

July 30, 2026

Baghdad 1:09 am

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Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi at a Council of Ministers meeting in Baghdad, July 25, 2026.

Zaidi cancels Riyadh trip after US-Saudi strikes on Iran-backed militias in Iraq

The move comes after Riyadh joined Washington in targeting Iraqi militias, dealing a setback to Baghdad's efforts to strengthen ties with Gulf Arab states.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan greets Iraq Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi upon his arrival in Ankara, July 28, 2026.

Explainer

Erdogan hosts Zaidi, touts ‘historic step’ in Turkey-Iraq energy ties

The Turkish president outlined Ankara’s priorities with the new Iraqi government during the Iraqi leader’s first visit to Turkey: security, energy cooperation and the Development Road.

Latest News

Zaidi to meet Erdogan as Turkey-Iraq ties take off, Kurds feel sidelined

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi speaks during a meeting with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (not pictured) at the Pentagon on July 14, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia.

Analysis

Zaidi’s test in Tehran

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi is welcomed to the Saadabad Palace in Tehran by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, July 23, 2026.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

Iraq deepens Iran ties days after US investment push

Iranian Presidential Office / AFP via Getty Images

International oil firms halt production in Iraq’s Kurdistan amid US-Iran escalation

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

Families leave al-Hol camp

Iraq seeks to rehabilitate Islamic State families

Baghdad’s program to allow families of Islamic State adherents to return from a Syrian camp and to reintegrate them back into Iraqi society stirs controversy.

A man stands by fans spraying air mixed with water vapor deployed by donors to cool down pedestrians along a street in Iraq's capital, Baghdad, on June 30, 2021, amidst a severe heatwave.

Intel: Iraq’s power crisis prompts resignation of electricity minister

Scorching summer heat, coordinated attacks on power transmission towers and Tehran cutting its power supply to Baghdad have contributed to severe power shortages across the country.

SAFIN HAMED/AFP via Getty Images

Iraqi Kurdistan government denies letting US bomb Iran-backed militia

An official from an Iran-backed militia in Iraq accused the Kurdistan Regional Government of allowing the United States to launch bombing runs from Erbil.

SABAH ARAR/AFP via Getty Images

Iraq replaces state media head

An Iraqi court has reinstated the former president of the Iraqi Media Network, annulling the appointment of Nabil Jasem.

Iraqi mourners attend the funeral of a fighter of the Hashid Shaabi paramilitary alliance following US airstrikes on the Syrian-Iraqi border, on June 28, 2021, in the northern Ninevah province.

Iraq-Syria border strikes on pro-Iran ‘militias’ spark retaliation

Airstrikes on both sides of the Iraqi-Syrian border near Qaim conducted by the United States were followed by retaliatory strikes by Iran-linked groups against a Kurdish-led SDF base housing coalition forces in eastern Syria.

(L-R) King Abdullah II of Jordan, Iraqi President Barham Salih and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi attend a meeting at the Republican Palace on the sidelines of the Iraqi-Egyptian-Jordanian tripartite summit, Baghdad, Iraq, June 27, 2021.

Iraq hosts historic summit with Jordanian, Egyptian leaders

The visit by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to Baghdad is the first by an Egyptian head of state since 1990.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi speaks to the media during a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Chancellery, Berlin, Germany, Oct. 20, 2020.

Iraqi prime minister attends PMU parade

The Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units held a military parade June 26 that was attended by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi as chief commander of the armed forces.

PMU in Hawija 2017

Iraqi PMU plan military parade as show of force

Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units are organizing a military parade on the seventh anniversary of their establishment as a show of strength, but it may also reveal their divisions.

Workers prepare a site for constructing small residential units, 30 kilometers south of Baghdad, on June 1, 2011.

Iraqi government takes on housing crisis

The Iraqi government is mulling over several housing projects to solve the mounting housing crisis.

A picture taken during the visit of Iraqi prime minister to the southern city of Basra shows the Safwan border crossing with Kuwait, July 15, 2020.

Iraq automates its customs service to reduce corruption at border crossings

The Iraqi government has taken several new initiatives to fight corruption, from automating border crossings, arresting corrupt figures and imposing restrictions on the economic interests of militias and political parties.

A woman holds a poster of newly elected President Ebrahim Raisi, with text in Persian reading "Government of the people, strong Iran," as supporters celebrate his victory in Imam Hussein Square, Tehran, Iran, June 19, 2021.

Iran's Iraq policy unlikely to change under Raisi

Despite his hardline credentials, Iran's foreign policy is likely to remain unified under the new president.

US soldiers patrol at the Egyptian Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, July 8, 2005.

US announces reward in targeting Iraqi militias

Iraqi armed group threatens retaliation against "specific targets."