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Iraq

July 7, 2026

Baghdad 3:15 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

Iraq seeks to combine Sunni, Shiite troops

As part of the national reconciliation, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered that the Sunni Ninevah Guard be included in the Popular Mobilization Units.

Iraqi Christians eager to rebuild their lives post-IS

Christian families are preparing to return to their homeland in the liberated areas of Iraq, despite a lack of adequate support from the government and security forces.

People drive a vehicle in al-Rai town, northern Aleppo countryside, Syria January 13, 2017. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RTX2YTMK

Syrians express 'deep anger' at Turkey for war

Al-Monitor reports from Damascus and Aleppo, where Russian Chechen troops stand guard; Iraqi prime minister seeks improved ties with neighbors.

The speaker of the Parliament of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, Yossef Mohammed speaks during a joint press conference with Kurdistan's Prime Minister (unseen) about oil agreements on May 14, 2015 in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. AFP PHOTO / SAFIN HAMED (Photo credit should read SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images)

KRG speaker: Independent Kurdish state complex issue

Kurdish parliament Speaker Yusuf Mohammed Sadiq discusses with Al-Monitor the current issues of Iraqi Kurdistan.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi (C) gestures during his visit in Kirkuk, Iraq, October 14, 2016. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed - RTSSANO

Abadi enlists neighbors to support unified Iraq

Iraq is shoring up political and economic relations with neighboring states to prepare for rebuilding after the defeat of the Islamic State.

Journalists and security forces take cover from a mortar shell of clashes during a battle with Islamic State militants in Mosul, Iraq, November 30, 2016 REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani - RTSU1LY

Iraqi journalists face threats, murder

In the absence of deterrent laws and decisive action by the government, Iraqi journalists continue to face all manner of threats, including kidnapping, murder and persecution.

Illegal hunting threatens biodiversity of Iraq's marshes

In the absence of deterrent laws and decisive actions by the authorities, hunters in Iraq are killing migrant birds on a large scale.

Iraqi President Fuad Masum (R) meets with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim (L) at the presidential palace in Baghdad on January 7, 2017.
Iraq and Turkey's prime ministers held talks in Baghdad which both said reflected progress in resolving a bitter row over the presence of Turkish troops in northern Iraq. / AFP / POOL / KHALID AL-MOUSILY (Photo credit should read KHALID AL-MOUSILY/AFP/Getty Images)

Will Turkey, Iraq open new chapter in ties?

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim’s visit to Iraq last week has signaled a willingness to improve relations between the two countries after a period of intense animosity.

Graffiti warning on a house saying that the house is mined is seen in the city of Ramadi, January 16, 2016. Baghdad and Washington have touted Ramadi as the first major success for Iraq's U.S.-backed army since it collapsed in the face of Islamic State's lightning advance across the country's north and west in mid-2014. But the scorched-earth battlefield tactics used by both sides mean the prize is a shattered ruin. Picture taken January 16, 2016. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RTX22WLQ

Westward offensive starts as Iraq's Ramadi catches breath

With the Mosul operation still going on and Anbar's liberated area still unstable, the Iraqi forces have launched an assault on the last Islamic State stronghold in Anbar province.

A female member of the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS), a militia affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), carries a sniper and an AK-47 rifle in the village of Umm al-Dhiban, northern Iraq, April 29, 2016. They share little more than an enemy and struggle to communicate on the battlefield, but together two relatively obscure groups have opened up a new front against Islamic State militants in a remote corner of Iraq. The unlikely alliance between the Sinjar Resistance Units, an offshoot of a lefti

Who's fighting whom in Iraq's Sinjar?

After KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani warned that the KRG may resort to force to expel the Kurdistan Workers Party from Sinjar, tensions rose in the region.

AMMAN, JORDAN- NOVEMBER 7: Jordan's King Abdullah II is welcomed by the chairman of the joint chiefs staff Mahmoud Freihat, upon his arrival for the State opening of the Parliament on November 7, 2016, in Amman, Jordan. King Abdullah addressed the recently elected 18th Jordanian Lower House of Parliament with the appointed Higher House of the Senate with the attendence of royal family members and the government. ( Photo by Jordan Pix/ Getty Images)

Jordanians question timing, messages of top military brass

The Dec. 30 BBC interview with Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Freihat, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, raised eyebrows in Amman and prompted local commentators to speculate about the purpose and meaning of Freihat’s statements.

Iran, Iraq seek to send a message with joint naval exercises

In a clear message to the Gulf countries of the Iranian influence, Iraqi forces with Iranian support are conducting military maneuvers in the Persian Gulf and the Iraqi land border with the Saudi.