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Iraq

July 8, 2026

Baghdad 4:48 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

Will Abadi resign from his party?

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi wants to form a Cabinet of nonpartisan technocrats, but his critics are pressing him to first leave the Islamic Dawa Party.

Iraqi actors perform on the stage of the damaged Rasheed theatre in Baghdad May 4, 2003, during the first post-war theatre play in the city. Members of the Najeen group performed "They passed from here", a political performance in the country's main theatre which was burned, damaged and looted during the chaotic fall of the regime of [Saddam Hussein.] - RTXLYCE

How these Iraqi artists are breathing new life into ruined theater

Impatient with neglect by successive Iraqi governments for cultural development, a group of producers and performers has taken on the task of renovating a destroyed theater.

Why the Mosul offensive has yet to succeed

Frustrations between the Iraqi army, peshmerga forces and local villagers have presented a major obstacle in the operation that was launched in late March to recapture Mosul from IS.

Iraqi Sunni Muslim fighters from Hashid Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) take part in a parade during a ceremony marking the Iraqi Police Day at Amiriyat al-Fallujah in Anbar province, January 9, 2016. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RTX21NI3

Will Popular Mobilization Units join operations to liberate Mosul?

Although the Sunni forces oppose the participation of the Popular Mobilization Units in the battle for Mosul, the Iraqi government has opted for their participation in the absence of a US veto.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani speaks during an interview with Reuters in Erbil, January 14, 2016. The autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq may sell parts of its electricity sector to raise funds to help plug a budget gap left by sinking oil prices, Talabani told Reuters. Picture taken January 14, 2016. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RTX22MGD

Congress cool on Kurdistan bailout

KRG leaders’ Capitol Hill trek yields lots of praise but no promises.

Decline in education threatens future Iraqi generations

The lack of schools and large number of students in the same classroom have negatively affected the learning process and the future of Iraq’s new generation.

Libyan soldiers manning a military outpost, stop a car at a checkpoint in Wadi Bey, west of the city of Sirte, which is held by Islamic State militants, February 23, 2016. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny - RTX28A55

Keeping the Islamic State in check in Libya

The international community hopes the new Libya government can bring together militias in an coordinated effort against Islamic State fighters.

A member of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces stands guard at a security point on Bashiqa mountain, overlooking Islamic State held territories of Mosul, 12 km northeast of Mosul City, March 7, 2015. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CONFLICT) - RTR4SF1J

Why the PKK is so interested in Mosul

The PKK is looking to join the Iraqi army and the Kurdistan Regional Government to liberate Mosul.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) gives a thumbs-up as Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi (R) welcomes him at the prime minister's palace in Baghdad April 8, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTSE5GF

The collapse of Iraq's Shiite alliance

Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr co-opts popular reform movement; Erdogan’s bid for empowered presidency linked to war with PKK; Turkey feels pressure to intensify fight against Islamic State; Backlash over Egyptian government crackdown on media.

Why Iraq's Kurds are united in Baghdad and divided in Erbil

Despite their internal divisions, Kurdish parties are united in the face of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's plan to reshuffle the Cabinet.

Smoke rises from the modern city as seen from the historic city of Palmyra, in Homs Governorate, Syria in this April 1, 2016 file photo. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki/Files - RTSD8PD

Private collectors fuel demand for looted Mideast antiquities

Archaeological experts say social dislocation and terrorism are increasing the ability of organized gangs to traffic artifacts to clients in Europe, Asia and the United States.

Supporters of prominent Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr shout slogans during a protest near the gates of Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone March March 31, 2016. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad - RTSD1EC

How religious movements gained the upper hand in Iraqi protests

The movement led by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Iraq has managed to stifle the pro-reform secular movement protests.