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Iraq

June 27, 2026

Baghdad 11:58 am

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A worker at a market for fuel oil and automotive fuel on March 17, 2026, in Erbil, Iraq.

Explainer

After UAE and Qatar, could Iraq be next to leave OPEC?

Iraq is seeking a higher production quota as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has slashed oil revenues and plunged the country into a fiscal crisis.

Krikor Der-Hagopian at the 9th Sulaimani Forum, in Sulaimaniyah, Iraq, on April 16, 2025.

Iraq taps Krikor Der-Hagopian as first Armenian Christian ambassador to US

Baghdad’s pick of a US-educated Armenian Christian adviser as envoy to Washington underscores a bid to reset US-Iraq ties and broaden the country’s diplomatic profile.

Tom Barrack

Exclusive

Barrack heads to Iraq as US presses Baghdad on Iran-backed militias

US envoy Tom Barrack is due to meet with Iraq’s new prime minister and other top officials in Baghdad, where he will likely press US demands for Iran-backed Shiite militias be dismantled and disarmed.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Culture

World Cup opens amid visa disputes for Iran, Iraq and Somalia

Members of the Iranian national soccer team including midfielder Alireza Jahanbakhsh (R) arrive at Tijuana International Airport on June 7, 2026, in Tijuana, Mexico.

Syria says Iraqi oil shipments surge as Damascus courts foreign energy investment

A long convoys of Iraqi diesel-laden tanker trucks line up along the highway Tartus-Baniyas highway as they wait to unload their cargo at the Baniyas port refinery on the Mediterranean Sea, on April 15, 2026.

Israel-Iran escalation grounds flights across parts of Middle East

An Airbus A321 airliner arrives at the Mehrabad international airport during the delivery of the first batch of planes to the Iranian state airline Iran Air in the capital Tehran on Jaunary 12, 2017. - The aircraft arrived as part of an order for 100 other Airbus planes with a list price of around $20 billion (19 billion euros) on December 22, placed after the lifting of international sanctions on the Islamic republic. It will be used for internal flights landed at Tehran's Mehrabad airport. (Photo by ATTA

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

n Iraqi sits across graffiti reading in Arabic "Where's my killer?" and depicting renowned Iraqi anti-government activist Ihab al-Wazni (Ehab al-Ouazni), who was shot dead in an ambush earlier this month, in the shrine city of Karbala on May 23, 2021. A wave of deadly attacks on pro-democracy activists and journalists in Iraq has sparked mounting calls to boycott October parliamentary elections, as perpetrators go unpunished. Killings, attempted murder and abductions have targeted more than 70 activists sin

Iraqi activists worry about election security

Some parties that grew out of the October protests have withdrawn candidates from the upcoming parliamentary elections over security concerns.

The model of an airplane of Iraqi Kurdish carrier "Zagrosjet" decorates the center of a roundabout near Erbil's International airport in the capital of Iraq's autonomous northern Kurdish region on April 15, 2021. An explosives-packed drone slammed into the Erbil airport late on April 14 in the first reported use of such a weapon against a base used by US-led coalition troops in the country, according to officials. It comes after around 20 bomb and rocket attacks blamed on pro-Iran Shiite armed groups agains

Iraqi armed factions using drones against US-led coalition

Iraqi security and coalition forces are increasingly concerned about the use of drones by armed factions against military bases and airports.

Members of Iraqi security forces close access to the Ibn Al-Khatib Hospital in Baghdad, on April 25, 2021, after a fire erupted in the medical facility reserved for the most severe COVID-19 cases.

Iraqi security forces to fill security vacuum that harbors Islamic State

In an effort to curb growing Islamic State activity in security gaps along the border between Iraqi Kurdistan and the rest of Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government and the federal Iraqi government are establishing Joint Coordination Centers.

Iraqi President Barham Saleh attends a session at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, on Jan. 22, 2020.

Iraq unveils massive anti-corruption project

Iraq has lost $150 billion to corruption since 2003, according to Iraqi President Barham Salih.

Baghdad rally for Palestinians

Iraqis flood streets in support of Palestinians

A massive protest called by a popular cleric and a conference planned by a political alliance linked to Shiite armed factions bear witness to widespread Iraqi support for the Palestinian cause.

Yazidi women hold up pictures of missed relatives during a commemoration ceremony in Stuttgart, southern Germany, on Aug. 3, 2019.

'Mountain of information' against Islamic State leads UN investigators to recognize Yazidi genocide

While Monday’s findings leave “no space for denial,” Yazidis now call for legislation and support for development of social and economic life.

Mourners attend the funeral of assassinated Iraqi anti-government activist Ihab al-Wazni (Ehab al-Ouazni) at the Imam Hussein Shrine in the central holy shrine city of Karbala on May 9, 2021. Wazni, a coordinator of protests in the Shiite shrine city of Karbala, was a vocal opponent of corruption, the stranglehold of Tehran-linked armed groups and Iran's influence in Iraq. He was shot overnight outside his home by men on motorbikes, in an ambush caught on surveillance cameras.

Assassination of Iraqi activist sparks protests in Karbala

The murder of a prominent activist in Karbala has triggered protests and calls for answers.

PMU motorcyclist at Qaim

Islamic State takes border station in Iraqi desert with 'drug smuggling wali'

A recent incident along Iraq’s western border and alleged connections between drug smuggling and Islamic State cells in the area have raised concern.

Saudi and Iranian flags

Iraqi president confirms Baghdad hosted Saudi-Iranian talks 'more than once'

President Barham Salih said the first round of talks occurred in early April, which he described as 'important and significant.'

An Iraqi man rides his bicycle past a closed mosque in Baghdad on Feb. 19, 2021, as authorities reimposed partial lockdown measures until early March after detecting a new strain of the coronavirus.

Iraq announces 10-day lockdown amid virus surge

Iraq, which is struggling to vaccinate its population, recently topped 1 million coronavirus cases.

SABAH ARAR/AFP via Getty Images

Iraqi authorities nab Islamic State 'governor' of Fallujah

Abu Ali al-Jumaili's arrest comes as Kurdish-led forces captured another IS official across the border in Syria.

Nasiriyah protesters

Iraqi political parties woo celebrities for election campaign

Some of Iraq’s political parties seek to bring mass media celebrities on board for the upcoming legislative elections.