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Iraq

July 30, 2026

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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

A picture taken on February 6, 2021 shows the Great Ziggurat temple in the ancient city of Ur, where Abraham the father of three religions is thought to have been born, which falls now in southern Iraq's Dhi Qar province, around 375 kilometres southeast of Baghdad. - The March 5-8 visit -- the first ever by a pope -- will include inter-religious prayers at the ancient city of Ur in Iraq's south. The Pope's prayers will bring Christians and Muslims together, as well as the faithful from the ancient religions

Pope speaks of interfaith tolerance from ancient city of Ur

The ancient city is the birthplace of the father of the three major monotheistic religions, a fitting backdrop for an interfaith dialogue, Pope Francis said.

A picture shows the scene of a twin suicide bombing on a bustling commercial street in the heart of Baghdad on January 21, 2021. - The toll in a twin suicide bombing in an open-air Baghdad market morning topped 20 dead and 40 wounded, an interior ministry official told AFP. The ministry said the first suicide bomber had rushed into the market and claimed to feel sick, so that people would gather around him. He then detonated his explosives. (Photo by Sabah ARAR / AFP) (Photo by SABAH ARAR/AFP via Getty Imag

At least one killed in Baghdad explosion

The grenade attack targeted a group of people commemorating a late imam who is revered by Shiite Muslims; the attack follows an Islamic State attack in the Iraqi capital in January.

Pope Francis climbs the stairs to board his Alitalia Airbus A330 aircraft as he departs from the Iraqi capital's Baghdad International Airport on March 8, 2021. (Photo by Ahmad AL-RUBAYE / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

As pope ends trip, Iraq's prime minister calls for national dialogue

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi applauded Pope Francis' visit as a great success and reached out to the Iraqi people and different parties to form a dialogue of understanding and tolerance among them.

ERBIL, IRAQ - MARCH 07: (EDITORS NOTE: Transmitted with alternate crop) Pope Francis waves to the crowd as he arrives to conduct mass at the Franso Hariri Stadium on March 07, 2021 in Erbil, Iraq. Pope Francis arrived in Erbil, the final stop of his historic four-day visit, the first-ever papal visit to Iraq. In his first foreign trip since the start of the pandemic, Pope Francis visited Baghdad, Najaf, Erbil, and the cities of Qaraqosh and Mosul, which were heavily destroyed by ISIS. Although the trip is

Pope urges Iraqis 'not to give up' as historic pilgrimage ends

Pope Francis spent the final day of his historic trip to Iraq visiting areas in which the country’s Christian minority has traditionally had a sizeable presence and the capital of the Kurdish region, to which many have fled amid improved but still fragile security.

Pope Francis, Iraq's Ayatollah Sistani call for unity in historic meeting

For the first time in history, the pope has visited the Shiite holy city of Najaf and met with top Shiite cleric Ali Sistani.

Pope's pilgrimage to Iraq and land of Abraham begins

The first-ever papal visit to Iraq starts as Pope Francis lands in Baghdad.

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - MARCH 05: Iraqi security forces patrol outside Sayidat al-Najat (Our lady of Salvation) Cathedral on March 5, 2021 in Baghdad, Iraq. Pope Francis began his historic first ever papal visit to Iraq. In his first foreign trip since the start of the pandemic Pope Francis will visit Baghdad, Najaf, Erbil and the cities of Qaraqosh and Mosul, which were heavily destroyed by ISIS. Although the trip is seen as an act of solidarity, the Vatican has been forced to defend the decision to go ahead with

US Embassy in Baghdad warns of attacks from 'Iran-supported groups' in Iraq

The announcement follows several attacks on the US military in the country as well as retaliatory strikes on Iraqi militias by the United States.

Yazidis refugees carry their belongings on January 3, 2017 in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey as they change their refugee camp and move to Midyat, further south.
The population of Yazidis reaches 700,000, the majority residing in northern Iraq where persecution from Islamic State jihadists led to as many as 40,000 Yazidis fleeing their ancestral homes to the Sinjar Mountains in northwestern Iraq, where they were trapped without food or water. / AFP / ILYAS AKENGIN (Photo credit should read ILYAS AKE

Online ‘auctions’ of Yazidi captives speak of ongoing Islamic State activity in Turkey

The rescue of a 7-year-old Yazidi captive in Ankara raises questions about how hard Turkey is trying to tackle Islamic State militants in the country.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein holds a press conference at the Babylon Hotel in the capital Baghdad, on March 4, 2021, on the eve of the first papal visit to Iraq. - Pope Francis begins a historic 4-day trip to war-scarred Iraq on March 5, defying security concerns and the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Sabah ARAR / AFP) / The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by Sabah ARAR has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [March 4] instead of [February 4]. Please im

Pope heads for Iraq in historic first

The pope will land in Iraq tomorrow for a three-day pilgrimage.

A picture taken on January 13, 2020 during a press tour organised by the US-led coalition fighting the remnants of the Islamic State group, shows US soldiers clearing rubble at Ain al-Asad military airbase in the western Iraqi province of Anbar. - Iran last week launched a wave of missiles at the sprawling Ain al-Asad airbase in western Iraq and a base in Arbil, capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, both hosting US and other foreign troops, in retaliation for the US killing top Iranian general Qasem

American dies of ‘cardiac episode’ after rocket attack on Iraq air base

Rocket strikes resume after Biden authorized retaliation on pro-Iran militia in Syria last week

Iraq begins administering COVID-19 vaccines

The vaccination process is underway throughout the country ahead of Pope Francis' visit.

Protesters are pictured in a square as smoke billows following clashes between Iraqi police forces and anti-government protesters in Nasiriyah in southern Iraq on January 10, 2021. - A policeman was killed today in Iraq, the army said, as security forces fired to disperse a third consecutive day of protests in the city of Nasiriyah, according to medics. (Photo by Asaad NIAZI / AFP) (Photo by ASAAD NIAZI/AFP via Getty Images)

Nasiriyah tensions ease as pope heads to Iraq

Iraq's Nasiriyah has been the scene of violent protests recently, but calm has settled over the city with the prime minister's efforts to calm it.