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Iraq

July 30, 2026

Baghdad 2:08 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

As oil fires burn in the distance, a man covers his face near the entrance to the besieged city of Basra on March 29, 2003, in Iraq.

Rise in Iraqi cancer cases may be linked to wars, environment

The causes of the spike may be linked to Iraq's wars or environmental pollution, but the evidence is sketchy.

Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters arrive in the northern Iraqi city of Dahuk on May 14, 2013.

KRG puts PKK on notice for killing of peshmerga forces

The Biden administration slams PKK attack on Iraqi Kurdish allies as 'brutal.'

Wasni protest

Iraqi judiciary releases PMU leader, citing lack of evidence

The commander of an Iraqi Popular Mobilization Unit accused of involvement in murder was released June 9 after the court said it failed to find sufficient evidence.

Green Zone convoy

Another Iraqi intelligence officer killed in Baghdad

The most recent killing is likely meant to undercut Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi's efforts to curb militias outside the control of the state.

A picture taken on Jan. 13, 2020, during a press tour organized by the US-led coalition fighting the remnants of the Islamic State, shows a US soldier walking past a drone at the Ain al-Asad air base in the western Iraqi province of Anbar.

US air defenses shoot down drones near Iraq air base

Drones were intercepted and brought down near the air base that hosts US forces.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech after a signing ceremony with Libyan Government of National Unity Prime Minister at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on April 12, 2021.

Erdogan threatens to strike refugee camp inside Iraq

The rhetoric against Makhmour, a settlement where residents are overwhelmingly sympathetic to the Kurdistan Workers Party, could be part of a strategy to divert attention away from economic problems at home.

n Iraqi sits across graffiti reading in Arabic "Where's my killer?" and depicting renowned Iraqi anti-government activist Ihab al-Wazni (Ehab al-Ouazni), who was shot dead in an ambush earlier this month, in the shrine city of Karbala on May 23, 2021. A wave of deadly attacks on pro-democracy activists and journalists in Iraq has sparked mounting calls to boycott October parliamentary elections, as perpetrators go unpunished. Killings, attempted murder and abductions have targeted more than 70 activists sin

Iraqi activists worry about election security

Some parties that grew out of the October protests have withdrawn candidates from the upcoming parliamentary elections over security concerns.

The model of an airplane of Iraqi Kurdish carrier "Zagrosjet" decorates the center of a roundabout near Erbil's International airport in the capital of Iraq's autonomous northern Kurdish region on April 15, 2021. An explosives-packed drone slammed into the Erbil airport late on April 14 in the first reported use of such a weapon against a base used by US-led coalition troops in the country, according to officials. It comes after around 20 bomb and rocket attacks blamed on pro-Iran Shiite armed groups agains

Iraqi armed factions using drones against US-led coalition

Iraqi security and coalition forces are increasingly concerned about the use of drones by armed factions against military bases and airports.

Members of Iraqi security forces close access to the Ibn Al-Khatib Hospital in Baghdad, on April 25, 2021, after a fire erupted in the medical facility reserved for the most severe COVID-19 cases.

Iraqi security forces to fill security vacuum that harbors Islamic State

In an effort to curb growing Islamic State activity in security gaps along the border between Iraqi Kurdistan and the rest of Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government and the federal Iraqi government are establishing Joint Coordination Centers.

Iraqi President Barham Saleh attends a session at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, on Jan. 22, 2020.

Iraq unveils massive anti-corruption project

Iraq has lost $150 billion to corruption since 2003, according to Iraqi President Barham Salih.

Baghdad rally for Palestinians

Iraqis flood streets in support of Palestinians

A massive protest called by a popular cleric and a conference planned by a political alliance linked to Shiite armed factions bear witness to widespread Iraqi support for the Palestinian cause.

Yazidi women hold up pictures of missed relatives during a commemoration ceremony in Stuttgart, southern Germany, on Aug. 3, 2019.

'Mountain of information' against Islamic State leads UN investigators to recognize Yazidi genocide

While Monday’s findings leave “no space for denial,” Yazidis now call for legislation and support for development of social and economic life.