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Iraq

September 6, 2026

Baghdad 10:12 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

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara June 25, 2013. Turkish anti-terrorism police detained 20 people in raids in the capital Ankara on Tuesday in connection with weeks of anti-government protests across the country, media reports said. The unrest began at the end of May when police used force against campaigners opposed to plans to redevelop a central Istanbul park. The protest spiralled int

Turkey's Political Fallout On Iraqi Kurdish Crude

Relying upon Ankara as a sole energy transit route without an agreement with Baghdad may further delay the Kurdistan Region’s energy production potential.

Clerics work on computers at a religious research center associated with the seminary in Qom, 120 km (75 miles) south of Tehran February 2, 2009. REUTERS/Caren Firouz (IRAN) - RTXB5VD

Iran’s Seminarians React To Rouhani’s Election

Qom Seminary in Iran seems to have pinned its hopes on Rouhani's ability to reduce international pressure and restore the clergy's standing domestically.

A resident walks at the entrance of a cinema in Baghdad April 26, 2011. Iraq once had 82 cinemas, 64 of them located in the teeming capital, home to about 7 million of Iraq's 30 million people. One by one, they closed during the Saddam era, when the government controlled the selection and importation of films, until only five remained at the time of the invasion. The insurgency that followed and killed tens of thousands of people made Iraqis afraid of being in public places and crowds. They chose the relati

Iraqi Kurdistan Seeks Cinema Revival

With Erbil slated to be the 2014 Arab Capital of Tourism, the city has teamed up with the private sector to build 14 movie theaters, decades after general interest in cinema had dwindled.

Members of the Iraqi special forces stand guard at a checkpoint in central Baghdad March 23, 2012. The Iraqi government has tightened security measures ahead of the Arab League summit, which is scheduled to be held in Baghdad at the end of March. REUTERS/Saad Shalash (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR2ZRA8

Iraq’s Security Apparatuses Focus On Human Rights

In an ever unstable security situation, Iraq’s security apparatuses have a reputation for violating human rights and resorting to extreme use of force, a reputation the government is working to do away with.

Empty and disused Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL Group) containers are seen at Malta Freeport in the Port of Marsaxlokk outside Valletta February 10, 2012. The IRISL ships and containers are key parts in an international cat-and-mouse game: Iran's attempt to evade the trade sanctions tightening around it. Washington and European capitals want to stop or slow Iran's nuclear programme. They believe that IRISL, which moves nearly a third of Iran's exports and imports and is central to the coun

Iraq: Iran’s Economic Gateway To the World

Amid strict international sanctions, Iranian exports are increasingly flowing into Iraqi markets as one of its few remaining lifelines in the region and around the world.

Iraqi police display drugs which were seized in the southern city of Kerbala, 100 kms (62 miles) south of Baghdad September 6, 2005. The Major Crime Unit in Kerbala arrested four men attempting to smuggle over 20 kgs (44 pounds) of cocaine, heroin and hashish into Iraq, the latest in a string of recent seizures. The heroin was hidden in bags which were labelled as Costa Rican coffee. Police put the value of the drugs at around 280 million Iraqi dinars (about $1,930,000). REUTERS/Mshatq Mohamad RCS/VP - RTR

Drug Use Spreads Among Iraqi Youth

There is a growing drug problem among Iraqi youth, who deflect criticism of their drug use by offering social and economic justifications.

Saddam Hussein (R) stands with his guards behind him at an artillery
piece during the Iraq-Iran war in this undated file photo. The picture
is among exhibits at The Leader's Museum in Baghdad. British Prime
Minister Tony Blair published a dossier on Iraq's weapons programme on
Tuesday which claimed Saddam could launch weapons of mass destruction
at just 45 minutes' notice and was seeking to build a nuclear
capability. REUETRS/Handout

FK - RTRB072

Iraqi Defense Ministry Asks KRG To Return Saddam-Era Weapons

The Iraqi Ministry of Defense has filed a lawsuit against the Kurdistan Regional Government, claiming that the latter has failed to return Saddam-era weapons and military equipment.

Egyptians carry the coffin of a Shi'ite victim, who was killed in sectarian violence, before funeral prayers in El Sayeda Nafisa Mosque in Cairo, June 24, 2013. Egypt's president, accused of fuelling sectarian hatred, promised swift justice on Monday for a deadly attack on minority Shi'ites as he tried to quell broader factional fighting to avoid a threatened military intervention. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST RELIGION) - RTX10ZDU

Iraqis React to Lynchings in Egypt

The lynching of Shiites in Egypt demonstrates just how far-reaching sectarian tensions in the Middle East and the Arab world have become.

A resident jumps into water for a swim at Ahmed Awa tourist resort, known for its waterfalls, near Iraq's border with Iran where three American hikers are believed to have disappeared, near Sulaimaniyah, 260 km (160 miles) northeast of Baghdad, August 5, 2009. An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Wednesday he could not confirm whether three Americans had been detained by Iran. Picture taken August 5, 2009. REUTERS/Jamal Penjweny (IRAQ CONFLICT TRAVEL) - RTR26G8J

Iraqi Kurdistan Offers Loans to Tourism Sector

To keep up with its quickly growing tourism sector, the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government has begun offering loans to those wishing to build hotels and other touristic facilities.

Nawshirwan Mustafa, an Iraqi Kurdish Politician and the head of Kurdish "Change" opposition movement, shows his ink-stained finger after voting in Sulaimaniya, 260 km (160 miles) northeast of Baghdad March 7, 2010. Explosions killed 24 people as Iraqis voted on Sunday in an election that Sunni Islamist militants have vowed to disrupt, in one of many challenges to efforts to stabilise Iraq before U.S. troops leave. REUTERS/Jamal Penjweny (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR2BBPU

Iraqi Kurdish Opposition Challenges Draft Constitution

With elections slated to take place in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region this fall, opposing political figures have begun to exchange accusations.

Former Iraqi premier and head of the secular Iraqiya coalition, Iyad Allawi (R) holds a joint news conference with Qusay al Suhail, a top figure of the al-Sadr block (L) in Baghdad, August 17, 2010. Allawi said on Tuesday his Sunni-backed Iraqiya alliance would intensify talks with an anti-American Shi'ite movement to try to break a political stalemate. Iraq has been in a political deadlock since a March 7 election which produced no outright winner, raising tensions ahead of an end to U.S. combat operations

Iraqi First Deputy Speaker, From Sadr Bloc, Resigns Amid Queries

The unexpected resignation of Iraqi parliamentary first deputy speaker Qusay al-Suhail has raised questions on all sides of the Iraqi political spectrum.

An Iraqi man casts his vote at a polling station in Baghdad April 20, 2013. Iraqis voted for provincial councils on Saturday in their first ballot since U.S. troops left the country, a key measure of political strength before parliamentary elections next year. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTXYT1T

Iraqis Question Costly Pensions For Parliament Members

Reactions to a draft law from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law Coalition to do away with costly MP pensions are further embroiling the Iraqi political scene in controversy.