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Iraq

July 7, 2026

Baghdad 1:58 am

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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

General view of a building of the University of Mosul destroyed during the battle with Islamic State militants, in Mosul, Iraq January 30, 2017. Picture taken January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah - RTX2YYOF

Will Mosul see peace post-Islamic State?

While the number of internally displaced persons returning to Mosul has increased significantly recently, the city's residents wonder when they can live in peace again.

Members of the new Iraqi parliament attend a session at the parliament headquarters in Baghdad July 1, 2014. Newly elected Iraqi lawmakers convene on Tuesday, under pressure to name a unity government to keep the country from splitting apart after an onslaught by Sunni Islamists who have declared a "caliphate" to rule over all the world's Muslims. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3WMTV

Sexual harassment common even for Iraqi women professionals

As Iraqi women expand their presence in the workplace, they are increasingly subjected to sexual harassment, including at public institutions.

Students attend class on the first day of the new school term in Baghdad October 22, 2014. As the school year starts in Baghdad, a number of schools could not welcome pupils in as they are still housing refugees from areas controlled by the Islamic State. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: EDUCATION) - RTR4B7BZ

Iraqi teachers unsafe in own classrooms

The Iraqi prime minister has called on the security forces to protect schoolteachers from attacks by their students while the parliament considers penalizing crimes against educators.

Shi'ite fighters ride on the back of a truck with their weapons in al-Fatha, northeast of Baiji, October 18, 2015. Iraqi forces backed by Shi'ite militia fighters say they have retaken a mountain palace complex of former President Saddam Hussein from Islamic State fighters, as government forces push ahead on a major offensive against the insurgents. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RTS4Z28

Shiite militias open offices in Iraq's liberated Sunni areas

The Popular Mobilization Units are expanding their domination in Sunni-majority areas liberated from the Islamic State, raising concerns among the local population.

Why did Russia offer autonomy for Syria’s Kurds?

Draft constitution from Russia seeks to decentralize Syrian state authority, limit presidential powers; Turkish forces struggle in two-front campaign against both the Islamic State and Syrian Kurds; Al-Monitor offers in-depth reporting on Syrian Kurdish region.

Iraq welcomes return of foreign archaeological missions

Iraq has signed a contract with a British exploration mission for further excavation at the historic Tell Khaiber site west of Nasiriyah.

Protesters hold protraits of Iraqi female journalist Afrah Shawqi during a demonstration calling for her release on December 30, 2016, in Baghdad.
Shawqi, 43, who is employed by Asharq al-Awsat, a London-based pan-Arab newspaper, was abducted on December 26, 2016, from her home in a southern neighbourhood of the Iraqi capital. / AFP / SABAH ARAR (Photo credit should read SABAH ARAR/AFP/Getty Images)

Why are kidnappings on the rise in Baghdad?

As the Islamic State is being forced out of Iraq, abductions, robberies and other crimes are on the rise as a result of the proliferation of militias.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) speaks during a news conference with Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari in Baghdad, July 27, 2015. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad - RTX1M0DA

Will Iraq succeed in bringing Iran, Saudi Arabia closer?

Iraq has been stepping up its mediation efforts to achieve a Saudi-Iranian reconciliation amid a conducive political and economic environment.

Iraqis celebrate addition of Khidr Elias feast to UNESCO heritage list

UNESCO's addition of Iraq's Khidr Elias feast to its Intangible Cultural Heritage List is reviving interest in the religious and social tradition.

Members of the Saraya al-Salam (Peace Brigades), a group formed by Iraqi Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, grieve in a procession alongside a coffin during the funeral a fighter who was killed the day before in the northern city of Samarra during an attack by the Islamic State group (IS), on January 17, 2017 in the southern city of Basra. / AFP / HAIDAR MOHAMMED ALI (Photo credit should read HAIDAR MOHAMMED ALI/AFP/Getty Images)

Sadr’s fighters guard Shiite shrines, Sunni inhabitants in Iraq's Samarra

The predominantly Sunni city of Samarra, which includes one of the main Shiite holy shrines and is under the control of mostly Shiite militias, continues to be a prime target for IS and criminal groups.

TO GO WITH STORY BY BRYAN PEARSON Habib al-Sadr, director general of Iraq's biggest television company, Al-Iraqiya, answers questions during an interview with AFP at his Iraqi Media Network company headquarters in Baghdad's upmarket Al-Karrada suburb, 23 August 2007. Sadr has far-reaching plans to expand his ever-growing media empire -- provided he can outlive the constant threats to his life. All is in place for the launch mid-September at the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan of a new religious ch

Will Egypt join Iraq in the 'Axis of Resistance'?

Iraq is playing the role of broker to include Egypt in the Axis of Resistance, led by Iran.

Iraqi security forces stand next to burnt car at the site of an attack on a police checkpoint, near the town of Qadisiyah, 40km south of the Iraqi holy Shiite city of Najaf on January 1, 2017.
Gunmen wearing suicide vests and driving an explosives-laden vehicle opened fire on the checkpoint near the town of Qadisiyah, which lies around 180 kilometres (110 miles) south of Baghdad. / AFP / Haidar HAMDANI (Photo credit should read HAIDAR HAMDANI/AFP/Getty Images)

Losing ground in north, IS targets Iraq's Shiite south

As the Islamic State is attacked from all sides in Mosul, it is making a last ditch effort to disrupt military operations by carrying out attacks in Iraq's predominately Shiite province of Najaf.