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Iraq

June 29, 2026

Baghdad 9:24 pm

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aqi security personnel patrol in a vehicle along a street in Baghdad on June 28, 2026.

Analysis

Iraqi PM’s anti-corruption drive comes as US pressure mounts on Iran-backed militias

Iraq’s new prime minister has launched a sweeping anti-corruption campaign ahead of key talks in Washington, but analysts say the real test will be whether it reaches Iraq’s most powerful Iran-backed actors.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

A worker at a market for fuel oil and automotive fuel on March 17, 2026, in Erbil, Iraq.

Explainer

After UAE and Qatar, could Iraq be next to leave OPEC?

Iraq is seeking a higher production quota as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has slashed oil revenues and plunged the country into a fiscal crisis.

Krikor Der-Hagopian at the 9th Sulaimani Forum, in Sulaimaniyah, Iraq, on April 16, 2025.

Iraq taps Krikor Der-Hagopian as first Armenian Christian ambassador to US

Baghdad’s pick of a US-educated Armenian Christian adviser as envoy to Washington underscores a bid to reset US-Iraq ties and broaden the country’s diplomatic profile.

Latest News

Exclusive

Barrack heads to Iraq as US presses Baghdad on Iran-backed militias

Tom Barrack

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Culture

World Cup opens amid visa disputes for Iran, Iraq and Somalia

Members of the Iranian national soccer team including midfielder Alireza Jahanbakhsh (R) arrive at Tijuana International Airport on June 7, 2026, in Tijuana, Mexico.

Syria says Iraqi oil shipments surge as Damascus courts foreign energy investment

A long convoys of Iraqi diesel-laden tanker trucks line up along the highway Tartus-Baniyas highway as they wait to unload their cargo at the Baniyas port refinery on the Mediterranean Sea, on April 15, 2026.

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

Iraqis gratefully welcome UN envoy's speech, demand more

With few expectations, Iraqis expressed appreciation to the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert for her briefing on the protests.

Demonstrators are seen at Al Jumhuriya bridge during a protest over corruption, lack of jobs, and poor services, in Baghdad, Iraq October 29, 2019. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RC1E99F7A010

Iraq struggles with corruption as massive protests rage

Iraq outlines the measures it is trying to take against corruption as criticism mounts against the government from within and without.

Iraqi demonstrators carry pictures of people who were killed during ongoing anti-government protests in Nassiriya, Iraq December 4, 2019. Picture taken December 4, 2019. REUTERS/Alaa al-Marjani - RC2MPD9WP3M6

Chaos spreads in Iraq as PM office remains vacant

As Iraq approaches the constitutional deadline for selecting the new prime minister, chaos is spreading in the streets.

An Iraqi demonstrator climbs to Iraqi security forces check room during ongoing anti-government protests in Nassiriya, Iraq December 4, 2019. Picture taken December 4, 2019. REUTERS/Alaa al-Marjani - RC2MPD9W9BIX

US sanctions three Iran-backed militia leaders for violence against Iraq protesters

The United States will impose sanctions on three leaders of Iran-backed Iraqi militias that have committed human rights abuses against Iraqi protesters.

A protester holds an Iraqi flag amid a cloud of smoke from burning tires during ongoing anti-government protests in Najaf, Iraq November 26, 2019. REUTERS/Alaa al-Marjani - RC2ZID9MARY6

As chaos and violence consume Iraq, US keeps focus on deterring Iran

The Trump administration’s realism is well suited to the crisis in Iraq, with a clear red line on keeping out Iranian missiles.

University and college students attend the ongoing anti-government protests in Basra, Iraq December 3, 2019. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani - RC2MND91MYMO

University students, religious seminaries keep flame of Iraq protests burning

As the Iraqi parliament fails to appoint a new prime minister, thousands of university students and religious seminary students join the protests.

Mazloum Kobani, Syrian Democratic Forces' (SDF) commander in chief, talks as he announces the destruction of Islamic State's control of land in eastern Syria, at al-Omar oil field in Deir Al Zor, Syria March 23, 2019. - RC1F71152EF0

SDF woos Syrian Kurdish rivals in wake of Turkish assault

Could the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Iraqi Kurdish-backed Kurdish National Council, long at loggerheads, come to an accord in the wake of Turkey's invasion of Kurdish-administered areas of Syria?

Iraqi protesters' deaths could lead to international court

Fed up with Iraqi authorities' lack of response so far, some activists are considering an international case against former Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and others for their alleged roles in killing Iraqi demonstrators.

A view of the Iranian consulate after Iraqi demonstrators stormed and set fire to the building during ongoing anti-government protests in Najaf, Iraq November 28, 2019. REUTERS/Alaa al-Marjani - RC27KD96TF4I

Iranian consulates torched in Najaf and Karbala

Protesters attacked the Iranian consulates in the Iraqi holy cities of Najaf and Karbala over the past month, yet officials deny that protesters are anti-Iran.

What comes after Iraqi PM's resignation?

Following the Iraqi prime minister's resignation, the parliament is to appoint a new prime minister and move forward with demanded reforms.

Peshmerga unity depends on healing political divisions

Corruption and tribalism are two of the obstacles blocking the unification of Kurdish peshmerga forces.

Turkish soldiers stand on a watch tower at the Atmeh crossing on the Syrian-Turkish border, as seen from the Syrian side, in Idlib governorate, Syria May 31, 2019. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RC1525F30880

Despite stepped-up military actions, Turkey still faces jihadi threats

Ankara’s past haphazard policies complicate crackdown on IS; Iran hard-liners gain from protests; Syrian Kurds may not give up sales of Syrian oil to Damascus.