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Iraq

September 6, 2026

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A man walks past a mural depicting oil pumps and the Venezuelan flag, with portraits of Venezuelan independence leader Simon Bolivar (L) and former late President Hugo Chavez (R), in Caracas, Venezuela, on Sept. 3, 2026.

Analysis

Could Trump’s oil push in Venezuela upend OPEC’s energy order?

Washington’s growing role in controlling the Latin American country's crude riches could help reshape an energy order centered on OPEC as the Hormuz crisis pressures Gulf exports.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

After gun found in lake, French police probe link to 2012 Iraqi family murder

A recently discovered Luger pistol may have been used in the mysterious 2012 killing of the al-Hilli family near the Alpine town of Chevaline in eastern France.

AFP via Getty Images

Iraq sentences kidnapper of US journalist Shelly Kittleson to 15 years: What to know

The first sentencing in relation to Shelly Kittleson’s abduction comes as Iraq moves to rein in Iran-backed militias.

Iraqi army troops patrol the Iraq-Saudi Arabia border

Iraq reinforces Saudi border security amid militia tensions: What to know

Iraq is sending the reinforcements in response to Iran-backed militia attacks and as it looks to build security ties with Riyadh.

Latest News

Iraq summons Iran envoy over 'Persian Gulf' post, Baghdad name origins: What to know

Fred TANNEAU / AFP via Getty Images

Exclusive

Iraq's Zaidi set to make European debut with Macron in France

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi delivers a speech in Baghdad, May 16, 2026.

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

Students attend the first day of the new school term in Baghdad October 22, 2014. Children went back to school at the start of the new term on Wednesday amid increased security in Baghdad, as conflict rages in the country. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: EDUCATION SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR4B4OY

Iraqi teachers resort to abuse of students

With poor to absent government supervision and education policies, Iraq’s educational system seems to be stuck in the past.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi walks to a meeting with the Senate leadership at the U.S. Capitol in Washington April 15, 2015. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan - RTR4XHQA

Iraqi PM walks back criticism of Saudi Arabia

On his first official visit to Washington, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi showed how hard it is for his country to juggle conflicting outside powers.

Iraqi youths have lunch at a restaurant in eastern Baghdad May 4, 2014. Iraq is now gripped by its worst violence since the heights of its 2005-2008 sectarian war, and Sunni Islamist insurgents who target Shi'ites have been regaining ground in the country over the past year. But despite the instability, daily life continues in poor Shi'ite neighbourhoods of Baghdad such as Al-Fdhiliya and Sadr City - a sprawling slum marred by poor infrastructure and overcrowding. Picture taken May 4, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed J

Iraq's brain drain continues

The lack of security and the poor economy are forcing many young Iraqis to think about emigrating to the West, even if illegally.

Iraq's Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi tours the city of Tikrit after Iraq security forces regained control from Islamist State militants, April 1, 2015. Iraqi troops and Shi'ite paramilitary fighters were battling Islamic State on Wednesday in northern Tikrit, which officials described as the Sunni Muslim militant group's last stronghold in the city. REUTERS/Stringer - RTR4VSL0

After Tikrit victory, what's next for Iraqi forces?

Although the Islamic State was heavily defeated in Tikrit, to sustain the victory of the many groups that fought this battle seems far-fetched as confusion prevails among them.

A Kurdish village guard patrols a road in the southeastern Turkish province of Sirnak in this October 23, 2007 file photo. Ankara has amassed 100,000 troops on its border with Iraq and threatened a cross-border offensive to crack down on rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) based in mainly Kurdish northern Iraq. To match feature TURKEY-IRAQ/GUARDS REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY) - RTXBBD

Turkish soldiers target villagers' mules

Mules belonging to villagers living in the sensitive Uludere area have been shot by the Turkish military in its fight against what the state defines as smuggling and the locals see as legitimate trade over the Iraqi border.

Ammar al-Hakim, leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), speaks during a news conference with radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Najaf, south of Baghdad, January 23, 2015. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani (IRAQ - Tags - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION CONFLICT) - RTR4MOPE

Yemen war fuels Iraqi sectarianism

Operation Decisive Storm has stirred different positions within the Iraqi religious and political circles, be they Sunnis or Shiites.

Yazidis wary amid stalled Sinjar offensive

Peshmerga forces near the front line in Sinjar await KRG President Massoud Barzani's orders to advance on the Islamic State.

Shi'ite paramilitary fighters hold an Islamist State flag which they pulled down during victory celebrations after returning from Tikrit in Kerbala, southwest of Baghdad April 4, 2015. Shi'ite paramilitaries started leaving Tikrit on Saturday following a government deal after locals complained that some fighters had spent several days looting the Sunni city after helping retake it from Islamic State. REUTERS/Mushtaq Muhammed - RTR4W3WJ

Iraqi army sets sights on Fallujah, Mosul

The battle for Mosul will be complicated by the Kurdish factor and the city's remaining population.

A resident walks at the entrance of a cinema in Baghdad April 26, 2011. Iraq once had 82 cinemas, 64 of them located in the teeming capital, home to about 7 million of Iraq's 30 million people. One by one, they closed during the Saddam era, when the government controlled the selection and importation of films, until only five remained at the time of the invasion. The insurgency that followed and killed tens of thousands of people made Iraqis afraid of being in public places and crowds. They chose the relati

Iraqi cinema finds new direction

Iraq’s film industry has long been stunted by a lack of funding and governmental restrictions, but young and energetic directors and producers are working to turn it around.

Members of the Kurdish security forces take part in an intensive security deployment in Jalawla, Diyala province December 1, 2014. The blood of two militants killed during Islamic State's rout in the Iraqi town of Jalawla has yet to be washed away, but a turf war is already brewing between Kurdish and Shi'ite forces that jointly drove the insurgents out. The recapture of disputed territory and towns such as Jalawla is reopening rivalries over the boundary between areas of Kurdish control and those adminis

Iraqi residents denied return to town seized from IS

Some four months after being retaken from Islamic State fighters, Jalawla, in the Kurdistan region, remains uninhabited and divided among peshmerga, Shiite militias and Asayish, with residents awaiting resolution of who will ultimately control it.

People surf the Internet at an Internet cafe in Baghdad November 11, 2012. Iraqi telecommunications operators have warned that government plans to charge for the extra spectrum which they need to launch long-awaited 3G services could slow Internet adoption and economic growth. Picture taken November 11, 2012. To match story IRAQ-TELECOMS/ REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ - Tags: BUSINESS TELECOMS SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY SOCIETY) - RTR3ADY5

Iraqis turn to social media for IS coverage

Iraqis are shunning broadcast and print media in favor of social networking sites to spread and follow news about the fighting against the Islamic State.

Iraqis inspect the destruction caused by an explosion at the entrance of a monastery in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, 06 January 2008. Bombs exploded today outside two churches and a monastery in Mosul, wounding four people and slightly damaging the buildings, police said. AFP PHOTO/MUJAHED MOHAMMED (Photo credit should read MUJAHED MOHAMMED/AFP/Getty Images)

Ninevah monastery hopes for liberation

Past regular visitors to St. George's Monastery, north of Mosul, have been saddened and horrified by the acts of destruction by Islamic State members at the site.