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September 6, 2026

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A man walks past a mural depicting oil pumps and the Venezuelan flag, with portraits of Venezuelan independence leader Simon Bolivar (L) and former late President Hugo Chavez (R), in Caracas, Venezuela, on Sept. 3, 2026.

Analysis

Could Trump’s oil push in Venezuela upend OPEC’s energy order?

Washington’s growing role in controlling the Latin American country's crude riches could help reshape an energy order centered on OPEC as the Hormuz crisis pressures Gulf exports.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

After gun found in lake, French police probe link to 2012 Iraqi family murder

A recently discovered Luger pistol may have been used in the mysterious 2012 killing of the al-Hilli family near the Alpine town of Chevaline in eastern France.

AFP via Getty Images

Iraq sentences kidnapper of US journalist Shelly Kittleson to 15 years: What to know

The first sentencing in relation to Shelly Kittleson’s abduction comes as Iraq moves to rein in Iran-backed militias.

Iraqi army troops patrol the Iraq-Saudi Arabia border

Iraq reinforces Saudi border security amid militia tensions: What to know

Iraq is sending the reinforcements in response to Iran-backed militia attacks and as it looks to build security ties with Riyadh.

Latest News

Iraq summons Iran envoy over 'Persian Gulf' post, Baghdad name origins: What to know

Fred TANNEAU / AFP via Getty Images

Exclusive

Iraq's Zaidi set to make European debut with Macron in France

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi delivers a speech in Baghdad, May 16, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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

Shi'ite volunteers, who have joined the Iraqi army to fight against militants of the Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), carry a picture of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani during a graduation ceremony after completing their field training in Najaf, August 16, 2014. School is out, but northern Baghdad's classrooms are packed - not with students, but with people who have travelled further than most to escape the Sunni militant onslaught splitting Iraq. REUTERS/Alaa Al

Salafist danger spawns pan-Shiite solidarity

Rising incitement against Shiites by Salafist forces has prompted solidarity among the various sects of Shiite Islam.

Iraqi prime minister criticized for halting strikes on cities

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has come under fire from some rival circles for a decision to halt indiscriminate strikes on cities, which were causing civilian casualties.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talks about a photograph as he addresses the 69th United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York September 29, 2014. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR487W3

Netanyahu missteps on Hamas, Islamic State comparison

In his UN General Assembly speech, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu compared Hamas to the Islamic State, ignoring Israel's ongoing negotiations with Hamas in Cairo.

The "Valley of Peace" cemetery in Najaf, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad, is seen in this general view taken April 1, 2013. REUTERS/Haider Ala (IRAQ - Tags: SOCIETY) FOR BEST QUALITY IMAGE ALSO SEE: GM1E94617CL01 - RTXY4JC

Eid al-Adha: a time for Iraq to remember its war dead

The religious duty of visiting the dead on holidays has a special meaning for Iraqis, as many of them have lost loved ones in successive wars since the 1980s.

US leverages Iran-Iraq-Syria axis against Islamic State

New alignment offers the potential for breakthrough in the battle against extremist groups; the Arab world has a pulse, not an illness.

Villagers scatter wheat seeds on a field during planting season in Falluja, 50km (30 miles) west of Baghdad, November 22, 2007. REUTERS/Mohanned Faisal (IRAQ) - RTX3Y8R

Fighting robs Iraqi farmers of harvest

The Islamic State attacks and defensive military operations have affected the agricultural sector in Iraq's Salahuddin province, where wheat production had been expected to reach 4.5 million tons this year.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addresses a meeting of the United Nations Security Council
at the 69th U.N. General Assembly in New York, September 24, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR47KZB

Moscow backs fight against IS … to an extent

Russia is expressing cautious solidarity with the United States in fighting the Islamic State, while continuing its unequivocal support of the Syrian government.

Volunteers who joined the Iraqi army to fight against Islamic State (IS) militants march during training in Basra, southeast of Baghdad, September 9, 2014. Picture taken September 9, 2014. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags - CIVIL UNREST MILITARY POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTR45NPC

Security ministries on hold in Iraq

Iraq's parliament has failed to vote on the candidates proposed by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi for the posts of interior and defense ministers, letting the country slip down a dangerous path.

Members of the Iranian army pray at a university as they attend for Tehran's Friday prayers, April 10, 2009. Reform minded youth see America as the land of opportunity and would like to see ties with the U.S. restored but conservative minded youth see the U.S. as the enemy and feel that the Islamic Revolution?s goals must be kept alive. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN) - RTXDXUQ

Iranian conservative says the US needs Iran

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Iranian conservative Amir Mohebian discussed why he believes Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is pessimistic about the nuclear negotiations, how US policy in the Middle East has benefited Iran and how the United States is now in a position where it needs Iran to deal with regional issues.

Smoke rises from a recent US air strike on Islamic State (IS) militant positions in Khazir, on the edge of Mosul September 16, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR46GP6

IS makes plans to fend off attacks on Mosul

The Islamic State focuses on preparations to fight off expected attacks to Mosul by identifying secondary locations for headquarters, storing weapons in mosques and planting booby-traps.

A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter takes up position near his camp in Gwar, northern Iraq September 23, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR47EK9

Peshmerga look to restore image after defeats

Peshmerga forces are slowly but steadily regaining lost territory to the Islamic State, after initial defeats this summer sent shock waves through Iraqi Kurdistan.

A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter launches mortar shells towards Zummar, controlled by Islamic State (IS), near Mosul September 15, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR46B59

US, Iran woo rival Kurdish factions in battle against IS

While US airstrikes against the Islamic State have mostly benefited areas controlled by Kurdistan Democratic Party forces, Iran has reportedly provided materiel and advisers to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.