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September 7, 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

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (R) speaks during a joint news conference with Iraqi parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi in Baghdad December 20, 2010. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXVWR8

Iraq’s Future Uncertain Amid Political Turmoil

As disputes persist among Iraq’s governmental branches, it is unlikely that a resolution will be reached anytime soon.

A physical therapist treats a patient at a medical clinic in Baghdad March 8, 2011. Development in Iraq has been stifled by decades of economic sanctions and war and SMEs, often seen as the backbone of a country's economy, have made little progress in Iraq due to high start-up costs and scant government funding. Chronic power and water shortages, ongoing security concerns and high customs tariffs have all made it difficult for a small business sector to emerge. Picture taken March 8, 2011. To match fe

Maliki Prioritizes Health Care

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki gives priority to the construction of 10 new hospitals as part of efforts to develop and improve the Iraqi health-care sector.

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

Maliki Scrambles to Address Deteriorating Iraqi Security

Iraq's leaders have no answers as they struggle to reassure Iraqis after a wave of terrorist bombings.

An Iraqi Kurdish resident casts his ballot at a box during the regional parliament elections of the Kurdistan region in Baghdad July 25, 2009. Iraqi Kurds voted on Saturday in elections expected to keep Kurdistan President Masoud Barzani in power but unlikely to erase voter concerns about corruption or end a bitter feud with Baghdad over land and oil. REUTERS/Saad Shalash (IRAQ ELECTIONS POLITICS) - RTR260ZV

Barzani Presses for Referendum On Iraqi Kurdistan Constitution

Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani still faces considerable opposition to putting the draft constitution to a referendum.

Workers attend a training class at LUKOIL training centre in the southern city of Basra December 25, 2012. Russian oil firm LUKOIL has opened its first training centre located in al-Rumaila in the southern city of Basra to develop skilled staff to work in its oilfield. The firm, Russia's second-largest crude producer, won a contract to develop the West Qurna-2 oilfield. Picture taken December 25, 2012. REUTERS/Atef Hassan (IRAQ - Tags: ENERGY BUSINESS) - RTR3C2HM

Iraq to Simplify Visa Procedures For Foreign Oil Workers

The Iraqi government has announced that it will simplify entry-visa and residency-permit procedures for foreign oil workers, following complaints that the current lengthy process deters investors.

Iraqi parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi speaks during a news conference in Baghdad July 31, 2011. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2PHJW

Iraq Needs a Road Map to End Sectarian Violence

Iraq’s religious leaders need to help broker the political compromise that is eluding its political leaders.

Iraq's Shi'ite Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi speaks during a news conference at the Iraqi parliament headquarters in Baghdad September 7, 2010. Abdul-Mahdi thanked the Iraqi National Alliance for choosing him as a prime minister candidate, six months after a general election that produced no clear winner. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2I0GN

Former Vice President Slams Iraq's Economic Policy

In a statement issued on his personal Facebook page, economist and former Iraqi vice president Adil Abdul-Mahdi has vehemently criticized the country’s economic policy.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani (L) speaks next to U.S. Ambassador to Iraq James Jeffrey during one of several planned ceremonies to mark the end of American military presence in Iraq, in Baghdad December 1, 2011. The last 13,000 U.S. troops will pull out of Iraq by the end of the year. Violence in the country has dropped sharply since the heights of sectarian slaughter in 2006-2007, but at least 10 people were killed in a bombing just north of the capital Baghdad. REUTERS/Khalid Mohammed/Pool (IRAQ - Tags:

Sadr Wants Talabani to Step Down

Iraqi Shiite Leader Muqtada Al-Sadr is seeking to appoint a new president as questions linger about President Jalal Talabani's return to Iraq.

Kurds take part in a demonstration calling for the release of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan, in Strasbourg, eastern France, February 16, 2013. REUTERS/Jean-Marc Loos (FRANCE - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR3DVAE

Iraqi Kurds Call For TurkeyTo Release Ocalan

Iraqi Kurds have launched a petition campaign calling on Turkey for the release of imprisoned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan.

ATTENTION EDITORS - VISUAL COVERAGE OF SCENES OF INJURY OR DEATH

Mourners stand beside coffins of four members of a family killed in Basra bomb attacks, during a funeral in Najaf, around 160 km (99 miles) south of Baghdad May 20, 2013. More than 70 people were killed in a series of car bombings and suicide attacks targeting Shi'ite Muslims across Iraq on Monday, police and medics said, extending the worst sectarian violence since U.S. troops withdrew in December 2011. The attacks increased the number kil

Sectarian Violence Erupts Again Across Iraq

Renewed sectarian violence this week is setting back Iraqi efforts toward national reconciliation.

A general view shot on July 23, 2012 shows portraits of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (L) and his late father and predecessor, Hafez al-Assad (back), at the al-Yaroubiya border crossing between Syria and Iraq, close the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Syrian citizens are fleeing to neighboring countries including Iraq, Lebanon and Turkey as fighting between Syrian government forces and Free Syria Army rebels intensifies. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read -/AFP/GettyImages)

Border Arrests Reveal Disunity, Conflict Among Syrian Kurds

The Democratic Union Party's security forces have arrested 70 members of a rival Kurdish party trying to enter Syria from Iraq.

The leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, speaks in a rare video of him posted on the Internet on April 25, 2006. Zarqawi said Mujahideen were fighting on despite a three-year "crusader" war in Iraq. REUTERS/handout - RTR1CSXF

Syrian Cannibalism Video Reminds Iraqis of Zarqawi

A video showing a Syrian rebel commander eating the heart of a regime soldier has dealt a blow to the opposition.