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Iraq

June 28, 2026

Baghdad 8:38 pm

38°C

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 Sunnis seek answers for those displaced in time of fighting Islamic State

Sunni politicians are putting pressure on the Kadhimi government to determine the fate of Sunnis displaced during the fight against the Islamic State.

A view of Baghdad international Airport, after Iraq has suspended flights at its domestic airports as the coronavirus spreads, in Baghdad, Iraq March 17, 2020. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RC2PLF9MJ8L2

Rocket lands near Baghdad International Airport, no casualties

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack Monday.

Iraq still committed to energy ties with Saudi Arabia, Gulf states despite Iran electricity deal

Iraq has signed an agreement with Iran to continue importing gas and electricity for two years.

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The killing of George Floyd sparks controversy over African-Iraqi rights

Ongoing protests in the United States over the killing of George Floyd have raised awareness among Iraqis about African-Iraqi rights in the country.

Turkey to reopen border crossings with Iran, Iraq

By opening two border crossings with Iran and Iraq, Turkey is seeking to boost the economy, and many businesses resume operations in the country this week.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi meets with senior Iraqi officers during his visit in Kirkuk, Iraq June 2, 2020. Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC251H9N531M

Iraqi forces team up for anti-IS operation in Kirkuk

A large joint operation to root out Islamic State sleeper cells began in Kirkuk in a show of strength and unity after a rash of attacks in the area in recent weeks.

Police tape cordon is seen at the site of a bomb attack at a Shi'ite Muslim mosque in the Baladiyat neighbourhood of Baghdad, Iraq June 21, 2019. REUTERS/Khalid Al-Mousily - RC1F71BFBE30

Anti-Saudi blocs in Iraqi parliament want to sue

Iraqi political forces said they intend to enact a law to sue Saudi Arabia and have Riyadh compensate for the damage caused by suicide attacks carried out by Saudis in Iraq, which would embarrass the Mustafa al-Kadhimi government that is making a new start in Iraqi-Saudi economic relations.

Closed shops are seen during a curfew imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Baghdad, Iraq May 31, 2020. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily - RC2QZG9QKZIO

Iraq returns to lockdown after surge in coronavirus cases

Iraq registered more than 400 COVID-19 cases today, breaking the previously highest number from only a few days ago.

An Iranian cleric chants slogans as they gather to mourn during the forty days memorial, after the killing of Iran's Quds Force top commander Qassem Soleimani and the Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a U.S. air strike at Baghdad airport, at the "Valley of Peace" cemetery in Najaf, Iraq February 11, 2020. REUTERS/Alaa al-Marjani - RC2BYE9HRC06

Pro-Iran militias in Iraq wage 'fake news' campaign against US

Several pro-Iran militias have lately claimed responsibility for attacking US forces in Iraq, but examining their media activities indicates they are probably fake groups created by existing militias to show strength without taking the risk of ramifications.

A healthcare worker takes blood samples from a woman during testing for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Sadr city, district of Baghdad, Iraq May 21, 2020. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RC21TG9DOH2Z

Iraq registers dramatic jump in COVID-19 cases

There were 416 new confirmed infections of the novel coronavirus in Iraq today.

A Turkish F-16 fighter jet takes off from Incirlik airbase in the southern city of Adana, Turkey, July 27, 2015. To match Insight TURKEY-SECURITY/AIRFORCE REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo - S1AEULZGSTAA

Turkey conducts rare strike in Iraq's Sulaimaniyah province against PKK

Most Turkey-PKK fighting takes place in other parts of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq where Turkey has military bases.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo holds a news conference with Italian Foreign Minister Luigi di Maio in Rome, Italy, October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Alberto Lingria - RC1FD9F23680

Intel: US, Italy to co-host virtual meeting of anti-IS coalition

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Italian counterpart, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, will co-host a virtual meeting for members of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State on June 4, the State Department announced today.