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Iraq

July 5, 2026

Baghdad 10:49 pm

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An aerial view shows port of the western Syrian port city of Latakia, on Dec. 18, 2024.

Analysis

Can a UAE-backed Syria-Iraq corridor become Gulf's next trade route?

On June 26, Emirati and Syrian officials discussed plans for a logistics corridor connecting Syrian ports to Gulf markets via Iraq.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images

Here's what to know about Iraq's corruption as Zaidi launches crackdown

Watchdogs and financial institutions regard Iraq as a significantly corrupt country as the new prime minister works to recover public funds.

aqi security personnel patrol in a vehicle along a street in Baghdad on June 28, 2026.

Analysis

Iraqi PM’s anti-corruption drive comes as US pressure mounts on Iran-backed militias

Iraq’s new prime minister has launched a sweeping anti-corruption campaign ahead of key talks in Washington, but analysts say the real test will be whether it reaches Iraq’s most powerful Iran-backed actors.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Explainer

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

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

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

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

Exclusive

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

Tom Barrack

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

Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (R) talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, June 19, 2017. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RTS17RSB

Saudi Arabia engages Iraq at Iran's dismay

Iraq's rapprochement with Arab Sunni countries including Saudi Arabia is putting increased pressure on Iran.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu gestures during a news conference at the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium July 25, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Vidal - RTX3CUTU

Turkey squawks as KRG referendum nears

As regional and US pressure ramps up on Iraqi Kurds to postpone the independence referendum, Iraqi Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani seems unlikely to crack.

Iraqi army vehicles and a helicopter deploy in the front line in al-Anbar desert, 50 kms north east of Haditha, where the country's forces are fighting the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, on March 9, 2016.
Counter-terrorism forces, soldiers, police and allied paramilitaries are taking part in an operation launched on March 1, which is backed by artillery and both Iraqi and US-led coalition aircraft, aimed at retaking areas north of Baghdad, according to the Joint Operations Command. / AFP / AHMAD AL-RUBA

After Mosul, Iraq's western Anbar next up in IS fight

An Iraqi offensive against the Islamic State is likely to take place in the near future in the western Anbar province, with the city of Haditha being the gateway to the region.

NAJAF, IRAQ - MAY 2: Shiite cleric Sayed Moqtada al-Sadr sits in his offices beneath a portrait of his late father Ayatollah Mohammed Sadeq el-Sadr May 2, 2003 in Najaf, Iraq. A day earlier Iraqi Shiites gathered in the city to mark the anniversary of the death of Mohammed. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

What’s next for GCC-Iraq ties after Sadr's UAE visit?

Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has made trips to Saudi Arabia and the UAE to meet with Gulf leaders, but improving Iraq-GCC ties will be no easy task.

TOPSHOT - Iraqi Christians attend a mass at the Church of the Immaculate Conception on July 24, 2017 in the predominantly Christian Iraqi town of Qaraqosh (also known as Hamdaniya), some 30 kilometres from Mosul.
Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, who was split between "sadness" and "hope", attended a mass for the "renaissance" in Qaraqosh, which housed one of the largest Christian communities in Iraq before its capture by the Islamic State group . / AFP PHOTO / SAFIN HAMED / The erroneous date appearing in the

Armed disputes reveal Iraqi Christians' discord

Run-ins between Christian factions' armed units in Iraq expose growing gaps in the parties' visions for their future.

Iraq's Kurdistan region's President Massoud Barzani (C) sits during his meets with clerics and elders from the cities of the Kurdistan region in Erbil, Iraq August 9, 2017. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RTS1B1DI

Is Barzani backing away from independence referendum?

Iraqi Kurdistan's president expects "guarantees and alternatives" from Washington; Hamas diplomatic surge with Iran and Russia.

Iraq’s legendary fashion house revived

Despite pressure from conservatives and a lack of funds, the Iraqi House of Fashion revives its glory days with a museum catwalk.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with Iraqi Shi'ite leader Muqtada al-Sadr in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia July 30, 2017. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RTS19RFH

What's behind controversial Iraqi cleric's visit to Saudi Arabia?

Top Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has shifted his domestic and regional policies, adopting a stance independent of Iran.

Chairman of the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITC) Arshad al-Salihi (2nd-L) speaks during a press conference in the ethnically mixed northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on June 28, 2014, to denounce comments made by Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani about the city. Barzani said Baghdad could no longer object to Kurdish self-rule in Kirkuk and other areas from which federal forces withdrew as the insurgents advanced. AFP PHOTO/MARWAN IBRAHIM (Photo credit should read MARWAN IBRAHIM/AFP/Getty Images)

Iraq's Turkmen areas become battlefield in Kurdish referendum debate

Turkmen areas in Iraq have become a battleground between Arabs and Kurds to exert influence over them, while the Turkmens are concerned about the inclusion of these areas in the Kurdistan referendum on independence.

A view of a part of western Mosul, Iraq, May 29, 2017. Alkis Konstantinidis: "It was the second day of my assignment in Mosul and we were driving to join the Iraqi Federal Police forces at their frontline positions. The closer we got to our destination, the more obvious was the impact of the constant warfare. The cityscape was apocalyptic: demolished buildings, burnt cars tipped onto their sides, twisted masses of steel. We reached the frontline on what seemed a quiet day. But even if things appear calm, yo

US vows to press ahead with Iraq bomb clearance despite criticism

A State Department audit released this week criticizes the agency’s approach to oversight of efforts to clear improvised explosive devices and mines in Iraq.

Protesters, who are mostly school teachers, demonstrate on a street in Sulaymaniyah province, Iraq, against the Kurdish regional government for what the protesters said was a delay in payment of their salaries, due to the economic crisis in the Iraqi Kurdish region September 27, 2016. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed - RTSPOCJ

Not all Kurds on board with Kurdish independence vote

Some residents of Sulaimaniyah are fed up with the Iraqi Kurdistan government's poor management of the economy and may take their frustration out in the upcoming independence referendum.

Members of an Iraqi Special forces intelligence team talk to a suspected Islamic State fighter in Mosul, Iraq November 27, 2016. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic - RTSTITF

What is the fate of foreign IS fighters in Iraq?

Iraqi security forces arrested dozens of foreign fighters for the Islamic State during the battle of Mosul, but Baghdad must now decide their fate.