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Iraq

June 30, 2026

Baghdad 4:07 pm

44°C

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images

Here's what to know about Iraq's corruption as Zaidi launches crackdown

Watchdogs and financial institutions regard Iraq as a significantly corrupt country as the new prime minister works to recover public funds.

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.

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

US grants Iraq reprieve to continue buying Iranian gas

The US is allowing Iraq to keep purchasing gas from Iran without sanctions, to allow Baghdad time to develop alternate sources.

Fighters of Hashed Al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization units) flash the victory gesture as they advance through a street in the town of Tal Afar, west of Mosul, after the Iraqi government announced the launch of the operation to retake it from Islamic State (IS) group control, on August 26, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images)

Ninevah governor's election stirs Sunni split in Baghdad

The Ninevah Provincial Council has chosen a new governor close to the Shiite-dominated Popular Mobilization Units, prompting objections from many Sunnis.

A Turkish F-16 fighter jet takes off from Incirlik airbase in the southern city of Adana, Turkey, July 27, 2015. To match Insight TURKEY-SECURITY/AIRFORCE REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo - S1AEULZGSTAA

Turkish airstrikes target PKK rebels in Iraqi Kurdistan

Turkey claims its military operations against PKK rebels are more effective than ever thanks to drones.

Iraqi tribes seek to heal enduring wounds of IS legacy

Sunni tribes in Iraq that were under the control of the Islamic State for about three years are working toward social reconciliation to end lingering conflict and incidents of revenge.

Turkish and Iraqi troops are pictured during a joint military exercise near the Turkish-Iraqi border in Silopi, Turkey September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC1FB6450AB0

How viable is Turkey’s bid for military partnership with Iraq?

Turkey and Iraq have agreed to work on sealing a military cooperation agreement, and although regional developments dictate the solution of bilateral crises, the volatile relationship between the two neighbors calls for tempered optimism.

Rocket strikes Baghdad’s Green Zone

A rocket has hit Baghdad's Green Zone near the US Embassy, ramping up US-Iranian tensions even further.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and his Iraqi counterpart Mohammed al-Hakim enter a hall during a meeting in Moscow, Russia January 30, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov - RC147B91D090

Has Russia begun to play a role in Iraq?

Russia seeks a presence in Iraq similar to its presence in Syria but through Russian companies and economic, industrial and commercial agreements signed between the two countries.

Masked Shi'ite fighters hold their weapons in Al Hadidiya, south of Tikrit, en route to the Islamic State-controlled al-Alam town, where they are preparing to launch an offensive on Saturday, March 6, 2015. Iraqi government forces and Iran-backed militiamen entered a town on the southern outskirts of Saddam Hussein's home city Tikrit on Friday, pressing on with the biggest offensive yet against Islamic State militants that seized the north last year. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNR

Iraqi factions a wild card in US-Iran blame game

Armed militias in Iraq will have to determine whether their loyalties lie with their neutral government or against the United States in a standoff with Iran.

A partial view of the Iraqi capital Baghdad is reflected in the visor of a U.S. Army helicopter crew member as he looks out of a Chinook helicopter flying from the U.S. Embassy to Baghdad International airport, following the helicopter of U.S. secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in Iraq, January 9, 2019. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via REUTERS - RC1A9F707880

Could Iraq play a role in easing US-Iran tensions?

Iraqi political leaders, alarmed by the escalating proxy war between Iran and the United States taking place in their country, are trying to serve as mediators between the two.

The al-Qaim gate is closed at the border between Iraq and Syria at al-Qaim in Iraq, November 27, 2018. Picture taken November 27, 2018. REUTERS/Alaa al-Marjani - RC1669CDDD20

Will the Trump administration abort Iran’s land bridge to the Mediterranean?

As tensions between the United States and Iran are at their height in the Gulf region, there are talks about Iran pushing for the opening of al-Bukamal crossing between Syria and Iraq.

Iraq to handle foreign IS fighters' trials

Iraq so far is holding roughly a dozen French nationals who fought for the Islamic State. France's response: Keep them.

Yazidi's women attend a ceremony at Lilash Temple to commemorate the death of women who were killed by Islamic State militants, during the International Women Day, in Shikhan north of Iraq March 8, 2019. REUTERS/Ari Jalal - RC119D479580

Yazidis have 'protectors' in Iraq, but question safety

Iraq's Yazidi ethno-religious minority is safe from the Islamic State, but now faces infighting among protective forces seeking dominance in Sinjar.