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Iraq

November 3, 2026

Baghdad 3:55 am

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Zaidi

Iraq's Zaidi meets Sharaa on first Syria visit: What to know

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has sought to assuage concerns about his past militant activity in Iraq, whose oil trade and security cooperation with his two country is rising.

Safin HAMID / AFP via Getty Images

Iran says deal reached with Iraq to expel Kurdish separatists: What to know

Iran said an agreement was reached with Iraq to expel or hand over members of Kurdish separatist groups based in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Trucks loaded with goods wait to cross over to Syria

Analysis

How Hormuz crisis is reshaping economic ties between Iraq and Syria

Iraq and Syria are expanding trade and energy cooperation, but security risks, economic challenges and longstanding mistrust raise questions about whether their growing partnership can endure.

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Middle East, reporting on regional politics

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Oct. 14, 2026, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Iraq’s Zaidi, Saudi crown prince discuss security as Houthi attacks escalate

Iraq has moved to improve ties with Saudi Arabia after Iran-backed militias struck the kingdom and amid the conflict with the Houthis in Yemen.

Latest News

Explainer

PKK pulls out of Metina in northern Iraq amid Turkey peace process

Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters arrive in the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk on May 14, 2013, after leaving Turkey as part of a peace drive with Ankara.

Analysis

Why Syria and Iraq are taking different approaches to armed groups

Demonstrators ride through a street while waving Syrian flags

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Middle East, reporting on regional politics

Iraq devalues dinar 13% as Hormuz disruption hits oil revenue

A man walks past a closed foreign exchange office in Baghdad on October 7, 2026. Iraq's central bank devalued the dinar currency against the dollar on October 7, with the country facing a deepening crisis brought on by the Middle East war. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images)

Explainer

What Iraq’s US troop withdrawal means for security after Kirkuk killings

A member of the Iraqi security forces flashes the victory sign during a military parade

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

An Iraqi Kurdish music teacher gives a music lesson at a summer school in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, on June 17, 2014. The Kurdish region has been receiving displaced Iraqis fleeing nearby areas in northern Iraq taken over by militants, lead by jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), in a swift offensive in which they have said they intend to advance on Baghdad. AFP PHOTO/SAFIN HAMED (Photo credit should read SAFIN HAMED/AFP via Getty

Criticism mounts in Iraqi Kurdistan over unpaid teacher salaries

Teachers say the Kurdish government is not paying on time and want their salaries to come from Baghdad, but Kurdish authorities point to a budget dispute with the federal government.

Rocket hits Baghdad's Green Zone in first such incident for new PM

The rocket reportedly landed near the US Embassy and caused little damage.

Iraq takes action against bogus social media posts

Fake social media accounts have been spreading misinformation and leaked documents for political and criminal ends.

A muezzin of the shrine of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani prays alone since all places of worship remain closed as part of the preventive measures against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) during the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Baghdad, Iraq May 13, 2020. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani - RC2ONG91TTPX

Parts of Iraqi capital go under full lockdown after jump in virus cases

Iraq's health minister announced the new restrictions for some areas of Baghdad today.

Iraqi series produced by Saudi Arabia sparks controversy

Some TV programs on Saudi-funded channels have sparked controversy among Iraqis.

In shadow of COVID-19, US-led battle against Islamic State continues

A Pentagon report declares the Islamic State a "low-level insurgency" as the United States and Iraq prepare for strategic dialogue.

A female Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighter adjusts her scarf while another carries a picture of jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan at their base in Sinjar March 11, 2015. Women fighters at a PKK base on Mount Sinjar in northwest Iraq, just like their male counterparts, have to be ready for action at any time. Smoke from the front line, marking their battle against Islamic State, which launched an assault on northern Iraq last summer, is visible from the base. Many of the women have cut links

PKK attacks Turkish military base in Kurdistan Region of Iraq

The attack comes amid intra-Kurdish tensions in Iraq over the PKK's and Turkey's presence in the country.

A fire and smoke rises from a wheat field on the outskirts of Mosul, Iraq June 15, 2019. Picture taken June 15, 2019. REUTERS/Abdullah Rashid - RC1C2370E800

Islamic State believed behind crop fires in Iraq's disputed territories

The Islamic State is suspected of once again setting fire to farmland in the disputed Iraqi-Kurdish territories.

Kurdish Peshmerga Forces take part in their graduation ceremony at a military camp in Erbil, Iraq, August 21, 2019. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RC1EEC7735A0

Intel: Iraq’s Peshmerga Ministry pushes for joint security talks with Baghdad

The Peshmerga Ministry of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region said it will send a delegation to Baghdad to discuss security cooperation and the situation in the disputed territories.

Press freedom watchdog criticizes suspension of Kurdish reporter in northeast Syria

Rudaw's Vivian Fatah was suspended because she did not describe Kurdish fighters who had been killed in Syria as martyrs.

Iraqi-Syrian desert border area key amid geopolitical tensions

Recent security incidents indicate that the Islamic State continues to operate in the Iraqi-Syrian border area despite reduced capabilities.

Iraqi Kurdish officers and policemen stand at the gate of the border between Iraqi Kurdistan and Iran, that partially reopened for the first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at the border between Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan in Halabja Province, Iraq May 3, 2020. REUTERS/Saman Mahmood - RC24HG9M4JY9

Iraq reopens 2 border crossings to help boost battered Iranian economy

Two of five Iranian-Iraqi border crossings reopen for both goods and individuals, to the benefit of Iran's sanctions- and coronavirus-hit economy, and of Iraqis in the south and in the KRG-run north.