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Iraq

July 8, 2026

Baghdad 3:55 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

Participants pose for a picture during a ceremony opening a representative office of Syrian Kurdistan in Moscow, Russia, February 10, 2016. Syrian Kurdistan is also known as Western Kurdistan or Rojava region - the term commonly used by Kurds living in Syria. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov - RTX26BWH

How Russia sees Kurdish quest for autonomy

Russia is carefully crafting its policies regarding Kurds, seeking to take a leadership role in the Syrian situation without actually offending anyone.

Young Arab and Kurdish soldiers, coming from the newly-declared federal region -unifying territory run by Kurds across several Syrian provinces- take part in a training session as part of a compulsory military service on March 24, 2016 in Rmeilan, a border town in Syria's northeast Hasakeh province.
Syria's Kurds on March 17, 2016 declared a federal region in areas under their control in the north of the conflict-riven country, a move rejected by both the government and opposition. The new "federal system"

Why Syria's Kurds can’t count on long-term commitment from Russia

Russia appears to be looking ahead to strengthen its post-conflict political position in Syria by exploiting Kurds’ anxiety over America’s role there.

A displaced boy, who fled from Salahuddin province stands in a tent at a refugee camp, on the outskirts of Kirkuk, December 17, 2014. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed (IRAQ - Tags - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST SOCIETY POVERTY) - RTR4IESO

Fleeing Tuz Khormato residents add more strain on Iraq's Kirkuk

The renewed fighting in Tuz Khormato has prompted many more families to leave for Kirkuk, which is already struggling to host a large number of displaced people.

Muqtada al-Sadr, chameleon of Iraq's politics

Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr is taking advantage of the current popular protests in Iraq to expand his influence and thus become an undisputable leader on the Iraqi political scene.

French envoys bear surprising message from Mideast Christians

A French delegation to Lebanon, Iraq and Syria found that many Christians in the Middle East believe Western policies place economic interests ahead of their well-being.

Tunisian-born Holocaust survivor Susana Peretz, 79, sits in her home in the southern city of Beersheba April 4, 2013. Some 192,000 Holocaust survivors live in Israel and about a third have sought aid from the Foundation for the Benefit of the Holocaust Victims in Israel. According to surveys by the foundation, 19 percent of the survivors have admitted to going without adequate amounts of food and 14 percent had to forego medical treatment at least once a year due to financial hardship. The report said that

Israel's Arab Jews officially recognized as victims of Holocaust

Roughly 1,000 of Israel's North African and Iraqi Jews have requested to receive a one-time compensation grant that recognizes the suffering of those communities under the Nazi regime.

Why Tuz Khormato clashes were more than just local skirmishes

In Tuz Khormato, Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units and Kurdish peshmerga forces recently fought what appears to be a battle in the Shiite-Sunni power struggle, and not just a localized skirmish.

Iraqi journalists light candles at the site where Mohammed Badawi, the Baghdad bureau chief of Radio Free Iraq, was shot dead by a Kurdish officer in Baghdad's Jadriyah district March 22, 2014. Badawi was shot dead by the Kurdish officer at a checkpoint in Baghdad on Saturday as he went to work, provoking protests by other journalists and a promise by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to arrest the perpetrator. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MEDIA) - RTR3I6H4

Why journalists in Iraq face death threats

Journalists in Iraq are divided on why press freedom is restricted in the country, as some say that some reporters bring death threats on themselves by fabricating reports.

US, Russia compete to woo Syrian Kurds

The recent rapprochement between the Kurds and Russia is a new phase in the two sides' relations that date back to the 19th century, but Kurds do not want to alienate the United States either.

Iraq's Vice President Nouri al-Maliki attends a parliament session in Baghdad September 8, 2014. Iraq's parliament approved a new government headed by Haider al-Abadi as prime minister on Monday night, in a bid to rescue Iraq from collapse, with sectarianism and Arab-Kurdish tensions on the rise. REUTERS/Hadi Mizban/Pool (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR45G3J

Will secular parties gain upper hand in Iraq?

As religious currents have lost the people's and religious establishment's support, a secular discourse is more likely to emerge and compete with religious currents in the future.

Landmines hinder return of displaced to Iraq's Ramadi

Although efforts are underway to clear Ramadi from landmines, the displaced cannot return to their cities given the risks they could be facing.

Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump delivers a foreign policy speech at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, US April 27, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Bourg - RTX2BXBK

Trump meets the DC foreign policy establishment

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump rolls out his "America First" foreign policy speech, leaving many unanswered questions about his plans to secure the United States and stabilize the world's trouble spots.