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Iraq

November 7, 2026

Baghdad 11:16 pm

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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

Iraq begins construction on Baghdad wall

While the central Iraqi government claims that a wall is needed around the capital for security reasons, Sunnis suspect that Baghdad is being isolated in preparation for annexation to a Shiite region.

Tunisian Foreign Minister Taieb Baccouche (R) shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Tunis, Tunisia November 13, 2015. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi - RTS6SST

Kerry sells foreign aid budget

A look at the Middle East issues Congress will be addressing the week of Feb. 22.

Why this Iraqi city is starving

Residents of Fallujah, Mosul and other Iraqi cities under the Islamic State’s control are suffering under an IS strategy calculated to turn them against their government.

Iranian anti-narcotics policemen protect themselves from blowing sand at a police barracks on the border with Afghanistan near Zabol, 1,605 kilometers (1,003 miles) southeast of Tehran May 20, 2009. Iran, which shares a 900-km (560-mile) border with Afghanistan, is a conduit for smuggling drugs to the West from its insurgency-ridden neighbour. REUTERS/Caren Firouz (IRAN CRIME LAW POLITICS SOCIETY) - RTXKMQR

Iran struggles with border security

An IRGC commander says the elite Saberin Unit has provided Iran with security on its borders.

Zoroastrianism in Iraq seeks official recognition

Al-Monitor interviewed Zoroastrian spiritual leader in Iraq Peer Luqman Haji, who spoke about the resurgence of this millennia-old religion, the challenges and the need for tolerance in a region plagued by growing religious radicalism.

Beer cans are seen on the ground at the Ashurbanipal cultural society in Baghdad after an attack January 16, 2011. Men armed with steel pipes last week raided the Christian social club boasting a bar, and vandalized liquor shops in Baghdad, raising fears of a creeping fundamentalism as Iraq's new government gets to work. Picture taken January 16, 2011. REUTERS/Saad Shalash (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST RELIGION) - RTXWPQJ

Can Iraq separate religion and state?

Campaigns against social activity in Iraq call for a state that imposes its own rules and where Islamic factions have no power or influence.

Jewish shrine reminds Iraqis of religious coexistence

Although the tomb of Jewish Prophet Ezra was turned into an Islamic landmark over the years following the Jewish exodus in the 1950s, clerics there say they are preserving the Jewish character of the shrine.

Shi'ite fighters sit on the top of Spiral Minaret of the Great Mosque in Samarra, February 3, 2016. Picture taken February 3, 2016. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad - RTX25EVC

Obama's anti-IS envoy: Shiites saved Iraq

President Obama's envoy praises all sides in a bid to keep the coalition together.

A displaced family from the minority Yazidi sect, fleeing the violence, walks towards the entrance of Mosul, in northern Iraq August 21, 2014. Iraqi and Kurdish forces recaptured Iraq's biggest dam from Islamist militants with the help of U.S. air strikes to secure a vital strategic objective in fighting that threatens to break up the country, Kurdish and U.S. officials said on Monday. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY CONFLICT) - RTR437XY

Who are Iraq's Kakai?

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Ako Shawais, the first political representative of Iraq’s Kakai minority, discusses why this sect is so secretive and its careful struggle for political and religious rights.

Iraq's new Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi attends the Parliament session to submit his government in Baghdad September 8, 2014. Iraq's parliament approved a new government headed by Haider al-Abadi as prime minister on Monday night, in a bid to rescue Iraq from collapse, with sectarianism and Arab-Kurdish tensions on the rise. REUTERS/Hadi Mizban/Pool (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR45G2T

Party squabbles have Iraqi PM by the coattails

A Cabinet shuffle by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is unlikely to assuage protesters demanding substantive government reform and the removal of corrupt officials.

How to overcome Iraq’s economic crisis

Iraq's economic recovery requires strong institutions and infrastructure, but with no time to wait for stability, the state should provide financial support and administrative facilities to help small businesses grow now.

Congress gets first-hand account of war against IS

A look at the Middle East issues Congress will be addressing the week of Feb. 8.