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Iraq

June 28, 2026

Baghdad 7:22 pm

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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

Iraqi security forces demonstrate their skills during a graduation ceremony at an Iraqi army base in Camp Taji in Baghdad, February 21, 2016. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad - GF10000317853

Iraqi forces thwart rocket attack near US troops

Iraq's success in stopping a rocket attack comes after dialogue with the United States on reducing US troop levels and protecting international coalition forces in the country.

Danish troops patrol in southern Iraq in this January 2005 file photo. Denmark will withdraw all of its ground troops from Iraq by August and replace them with a small helicopter unit, Denmark's Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Wednesday. SWEDEN OUT NORWAY OUT DENMARK OUT NO THIRD PARTY SALES REUTERS/Henning Bagger/Scanpix (IRAQ) - GM1DUQWFEIAA

Iraqi base attacks continue as Danes gear up for NATO training lead

Attacks continue to target bases in Iraq hosting international coalition and Iraqi forces. The Danish parliament has, meanwhile, voted to take leadership of the NATO training mission beginning in December and send a frigate to the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which much Iraqi oil passes, beginning in late summer.

Intel: US to pull more troops from Iraq as dialogue with Baghdad continues

The United States said it will further reduce its troop levels in Iraq as American diplomats and their Iraqi counterparts continue a round of dialogue initiated yesterday over the future of the countries’ relationship.

U.S. Brigadier General Vincent Barker shakes hands with Iraqi General Mohammed Fadel, as he wears face mask and gloves, following the outbreak of coronvavirus disease (COVID-19), during the hand over of Qayyarah Airfield West from US-led coalition forces to Iraqi Security Forces, in the south of Mosul, Iraq March 26, 2020. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RC2SRF9VPYO2

US, Iraq look to continue strategic dialogue in Washington next month

Following an initial round of talks in Baghdad, Iraq and the United States have agreed to maintain and expand cooperation in various realms.

An Iraqi soldier wears a protective face mask as he stands guard at a check point, enforcing a curfew imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Baghdad, Iraq May 3, 2020.REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RC26HG9KD5MD

Iraq keeps heat on Islamic State by targeting leaders

Iraqi intelligence and military operations against IS have dealt a heavy blow to the group, which has lost a number of its leaders and fighters in recent months both inside and outside of Iraq.

The Nabi Younes market is seen empty during a curfew imposed by Iraqi authorities, following the outbreak of coronavirus, in east Mosul, Iraq March 15, 2020. REUTERS/Abdullah Rashid - RC29KF9K7L0M

New report details damage to Iraqi economy during COVID-19 pandemic

The report by the UN-affiliated International Organization for Migration shows how virus-related restrictions have led to revenue and job losses for small and medium-sized businesses in Iraq.

Mourners carry the coffin of an Iraqi demonstrator, who was killed during ongoing anti-government protests in Basra, Iraq May 11, 2020. REUTERS/Stringer - RC2DMG92E3JK

After promising accountability, Iraq arrests suspect in protester's death

The spokesman for the Defense Ministry said the suspect killed an anti-government protester in Baghdad.

The shadow of an Iraqi demonstrator is seen on an Iraqi flag during ongoing anti-government protests in Kerbala, Iraq January 10, 2020. REUTERS/Abdullah Dhiaa al-Deen TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC22DE96XHT0

US-Iraq strategic talks launched with increasing national, regional support

Iraq has begun a strategic dialogue with the United States that promises to shape various aspects of the two countries' relationship.

An Iraqi soldier wears a protective face mask and gloves, following the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), as he stands guard during the hand over of Qayyarah Airfield West from US-led coalition forces to Iraqi Security Forces, in the south of Mosul, Iraq March 26, 2020. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RC2SRF9WTZ1K

Rocket hits Baghdad as US-Iraq dialogue set to launch

In order to reorganize the relationship between the two countries in various aspects, Iraq and the United States are negotiating over a new strategic agreement.

A view of Shatt al-Arab river from Al-Tanouma district, east of Basra, Iraq September 21, 2018. Basra residents say salt seeping into the water supply had made it undrinkable and sent hundreds of people to a hospital. Picture taken September 21, 2018. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani - RC1C273EB650

Basra, the richest city in Iraq with little water to drink

Iraq's Ministry of Water Resources is preparing a plan to solve the water crisis in Basra, which has been one of the most prominent issues successive governments have failed to address.

A U.S. Air Force C-130 transport plane fly during the Clear Sky 2018 multinational military drills at Starokostiantyniv Air Base in Khmelnytskyi Region, Ukraine October 12, 2018. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich - RC1E8FF15980

Four injured in US military transport plane crash at Iraq’s Camp Taji

An Air Force C-130 Hercules struck a wall, damaging the aircraft and causing a fire onboard.

A man wears a protective face shield and a mask at a store during a curfew imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Baghdad, Iraq June 7, 2020. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily - RC274H9RVUGM

Iraq sees slight drop in new COVID-19 cases after days with more than 1,000

The spread of the virus continues at an alarming rate in Iraq, particularly in Baghdad and Sulaimaniyah.