Iraq - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Iran cover image

Iraq

July 10, 2026

Baghdad 7:30 am

36°C

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

Kurdish Peshmerga female fighters practise the procedure of dealing with prisoners during combat skills training before being deployed to fight Islamic State militants, at their military camp in Sulaimaniya, northern Iraq September 18, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR46QER

Concerns rise over execution of IS militants

Captured members of the Islamic State in Iraq are being executed, increasing the possibility of mass killings of civilians and destroying Iraq's future as a unitary state.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Martin Dempsey (not pictured) speak to reporters at the Pentagon in Washington April 16, 2015. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan - RTR4XNHW

Carter: Syria 'safe zones' would be 'major combat mission'

US secretary of defense tells Congress no-fly zone would be "difficult thing to contemplate"; state institutions collapse as result of war in Yemen; Obama administration rejects direct arms to Iraqi Kurdistan.

Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (L) and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi review a guard of honour during a welcoming ceremony in Ankara December 25, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4J8KH

Abadi tries to balance Iraq between Iran, Turkey

Under Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi government did not hide its strong ties with Iran, but with a new administration in place, Haider al-Abadi is trying to cultivate a more balanced policy toward its neighbors.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY SALAM FARAJ
An Iraqi man walks at the archaeological site of Babylon, south of Baghdad, on April 25, 2012. Babylon's Hanging Gardens were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, but heritage appears to be no match for Iraq's booming oil industry in a dispute over a new pipeline. AFP PHOTO / ALI AL-SAADI (Photo credit should read ALI AL-SAADI/AFP/GettyImages)

Babylon awaits tourists' return

Cultural authorities are trying to revive tourism to Iraq's Babil, historic Babylon, after years of neglect and destruction in the area.

Morocco battles Islamic State cells

After attacks in neighboring Tunisia, Morocco is doing all it can to crack down on Islamic State sympathizers.

United Arab Emirates

Restrictions on Iraq's displaced people worsen Shiite-Sunni divide

Discrimination against Sunnis by Shiites is rampant in Iraq, raising distrust between Sunni and Shiite communities and aggravating the situation of internally displaced people.

Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie (L) looks on as US Vice President Joseph R. Biden (C) and Amos J. Hochstein, US State Department Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs, talk before the Caribbean Energy Security Initiative Luncheon during the Caribbean Energy Security Summit at the US Department of States January 26, 2015 in Washington, DC. Leaders from around the Caribbean attended the summit to discuss energy and regional issues. AFP PHOTO/BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI (Photo cre

Price impact of Iranian oil uncertain, says US official

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Amos Hochstein, special envoy and coordinator for International Energy Affairs at the US State Department, says Middle Eastern countries are increasingly investing in renewables, international oil companies are returning to Egypt and Israel needs get its regulatory house in order if it wants foreign investments in offshore natural gas.

An Iraqi Airways plane lands at Baghdad International airport January 27, 2015. Airlines from at least three countries suspended flights to Baghdad on Tuesday after bullets hit an airplane operated by budget carrier Dubai Aviation Corp, known as flydubai, as it was landing at Baghdad airport. Company officials said Iraqi Airways and Iran's Caspian Airlines were operating flights to Baghdad on a normal schedule. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS TRANSPORT) - RTR4N5YY

Revitalizing Iraq's ports, airways in the shadow of IS

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Transport Minister Baqir Jabr al-Zubeidi elaborates on his ministry’s commitment to overcoming the budget deficit amid the country’s troubled security situation.

Yazidi candidate hopes for historic first in Turkish election

If the pro-Kurdish HDP passes the 10% threshold in the general elections on June 7, Feleknas Uca will be the first Yazidi member of the Turkish parliament.

A member of the Iraqi security forces stands guard as displaced Sunni people, who fled the violence in the city of Ramadi, arrive at the outskirts of Baghdad, April 18, 2015. Iraqi security forces fought Islamic State militants at the gates of the western city of Ramadi on Friday, and local authorities warned it was in danger of falling unless reinforcements arrived soon. REUTERS/Stringer - RTR4XVJ3

Iraqis need to build state, not just defeat IS

Iraqis cannot liberate their country from the Islamic State unless they are able to create a unified state representing all interests.

Sunni tribesmen take part in a military training, as they prepare to fight against militants of the Islamic State, on the outskirt of Ramadi, west of Baghdad, November 16, 2014. Islamic State's systematic massacre of hundreds of Iraq's Albu Nimr tribe should have been an unmistakable wake up call for a country that may not be able to stabilise without long-term support from Sunni tribesmen. Picture taken November 16, 2014. REUTERS/Ali al-Mashhadani (IRAQ - Tags: CONFLICT MILITARY POLITICS) - RTR4EH9R

Iraq's Sunni fighting force still months away

Baghdad is still debating the national guard plan that would seek to integrate Sunnis into the battle against the Islamic State.

Turkish soldiers monitor the border line as they stand guard near the Akcakale border crossing in Sanliurfa province, southeastern Turkey, where Islamic State militants control the Syrian side of the gate, January 29, 2015. An audio message purportedly from a Japanese journalist being held by Islamic State militants said a Jordanian air force pilot also captured by the group would be killed unless an Iraqi female prisoner in Jordan was released by sunset on Thursday. The message appeared to postpone a previ

Turkish military puts brakes on Syrian intervention

While a Turkish military operation against Syria is unlikely, Mosul is another story.