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Iraq

September 6, 2026

Baghdad 7:40 pm

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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

A man reads a copy of the magazine "Israel-Kurd" at a street in Arbil, 310 km (190 miles) north of Baghdad August 16, 2009. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari (IRAQ SOCIETY) - RTR26SCA

Rebuilding Bridges to Iraq's Jewish Heritage

Iraq's Jewish community is remembered with both nostalgia and tragedy.

Shi'ite Muslims attend Friday prayers in Baghdad's Sadr City, June 28, 2013. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: RELIGION) - RTX114LH

Friday Sermons Used to Incite At Iraqi Mosques

With the liberation afforded by the fall of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein’s regime, Friday sermons at Iraq’s mosques have become platforms for oftentimes escalatory political discourse.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran

Iranian clergymen debate at Talebiye seminary before noon prayer ceremony in Tabriz historic market, 633 km (393 miles) northwest of Tehran, early morning August 28, 2011. The Tabriz market was located along the Silk Road trade route and comprised of interlinked structures and spaces for various commercial, religious and educational uses. This market has been registered a

Iran on Quest to Legitimize Velayat-e Faqih in Iraqi Seminaries

Iran has always tried to secure religious legitimacy for its velayat-e faqih doctrine by supporting loyalists in the Qom and Najaf Shiite seminaries.

Smoke rises from the site of a bomb attack in Baghdad July 16, 2011. A parked car bomb targeting a night club killed two people and wounded nine others in central Baghdad, police and hospital sources said. Another police source said only six people were wounded by a roadside bomb. REUTERS/Saad Shalash (IRAQ - Tags: CONFLICT) - RTR2OXMP

Baghdad Nightlife Cloaked in Fear

Amid curfews and an unstable security environment, Iraqis in the nightlife business live in constant fear of militia attacks, security raids and customer brawls.

Syria Splits Shiite Clergy in Iraq, Iran

While Shiite authorities in Iran and Iraq have historically had a close relationship, Iran has been dismayed by Najafi clerics's refusal to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s civil war.

An electrician walks past wires connected to a local generator in Baghdad January 23, 2011. Iraq is slowly getting back on its feet after decades of war and economic sanctions, but a chronic power shortage is hobbling the development of local industry just when it is needed most. An unemployment rate that some officials say runs at 30 percent represents not just an economic challenge but also provides muscle for a lingering insurgency as the sectarian warfare unleashed after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion fades

Iraq's Dysfunctional Elite

A new ruling Iraqi oligarchy is squandering Iraq’s wealth.

Men hold Kurdish flags and a poster of Kurdistan leader Masoud Barazani during a Nowruz celebration organized by Kurdish groups at the seaside town of Rawshe in Beirut, March 21, 2013. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: RELIGION POLITICS) - RTR3FA2H

Kurdish National Congress Seeks Unity Amid Divisions

The Kurdish National Congress, to be held in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region on Aug. 24, will seek a common agenda for Kurds divided over the war in Syria.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (C) and acting Defence Minister Saadoun al-Dulaimi (L) attend a funeral ceremony for soldiers killed by militants, in Baghdad April 28, 2013. Militants shot dead five Iraqi soldiers in the Sunni Muslim stronghold province of Anbar on Saturday and protesters said they were forming an "army" after four days of unrest that raised fears of a return to widespread sectarian civil conflict. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CIVIL UNREST) - RTXZ2Y6

Is Maliki Considering Postponing Iraq's Parliamentary Elections?

There is speculation in Baghdad that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki may consider postponing Iraq's parliamentary elections scheduled for next year.

A woman applies lipstick at a beauty parlour in Baghdad September 21, 2011. As Iraq's violence ebbs and Baghdad life stabilizes, hair salons, gyms or beauty centres are starting to flourish again in the capital, bringing the city's women the touch of glamour they lost during the country's bloody sectarian strife and the economic sanctions in the 1990s. Picture taken September 21, 2011. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: SOCIETY) - RTR2SK4Q

Slowly, Surely Iraqi Women Increase Visibility, Role in Society

Although religious and conservative groups call for limiting the role of women in Iraqi society, women continue to flourish in the business and educational worlds.

A member of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporter of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi climbs up the main door of the Attorney General's office to spray a graffiti, which reads "Interior thugs", above posters of Mursi during a protest at the courthouse in downtown Cairo August 5, 2013. Several thousand Islamist supporters of Mursi marched through downtown Cairo on Monday calling for his reinstatement and denouncing the army general who led his overthrow. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: POLIT

How Iraqis Assess Egypt's Coup

Iraqis who view the Middle East’s developments from a purely sectarian perspective would do well to reconsider that approach as regional events play out.

Women march during a rally to mark "Al Quds" or Jerusalem Day in Baghdad, August 2, 2013. REUTERS/Saad Shalash(IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST) - RTX12859

Iraqi Government Suppresses Baghdad Demonstrations

The Iraqi government exercises its power to allow and reject popular demonstrations at will.

Relatives of missing people wait to fill application forms at a Human Rights office in Ramadi, 100 km (60 miles) west of Baghdad February 26, 2012. The Human Rights ministry in Iraq launched a campaign to test DNA and identify bodies. Around 300 suspected mass graves have been discovered around Iraq since Saddam Hussein was overthrown in 2003. Picture taken February 26, 2012. REUTERS/Ali al-Mashhadani (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2YKDR

Iraq’s Civilian Activists Under Siege

Civilian activists in Iraq have increasingly been subject to attacks, killings and threats from the authorities, militias and terrorist organizations.