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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

Sheikh Ali Hatem Sulaiman, head of the Dulaimi tribe, which dominates Ramadi and the sprawling desert province of Anbar, walks after the end of the a news conference in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, May 13, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR3ZVR3

Baghdad seethes as Erbil hosts revolutionary tribal conference

A revolutionary tribal leaders conference was held in Erbil, stirring harsh criticism from Baghdad that these armed groups are working with the Islamic State.

Islamic State urges Turkish businessmen to return to Iraq

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Turkey's economy minister says that in addition to IS prompting Turkish businessmen to return to Iraq, trade with Israel remains unaffected despite the current crisis, and 2015 will see an increase in exports and decrease in deficit.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (L) speaks next to speaker of parliament Salim al-Jabouri during a news conference after their meeting with in Baghdad July 26, 2014. Gunmen in army uniforms have seized a senior local official and prominent member of a Sunni Islamist party from his Baghdad home, police and security officials said on Saturday. It was not clear if Riyadh al-Adhdah, who heads Baghdad's Provincial Council and belongs to the Sunni Islamist Iraqi Islamic Party, had been kidnapped by militiamen

Maliki furious over Jordan-hosted Sunni opposition conference

The Iraqi opposition conference held in Jordan put the kingdom in an awkward position with Iraq's prime minister, but some in Iraq called for considering its resolutions because they reflect actual Sunni demands.

Aleppo’s rebels struggle to hold on as regime, IS advance

Rebels in Aleppo say they are preparing a counterattack to recover the vital Sheikh Najjar Industrial City, which was captured by regime forces early this month.

People walk through the rubble of the Prophet Younis Mosque after it was destroyed in a bomb attack by militants of the Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the city of Mosul, July 24, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS RELIGION) - RTR400PA

Islamic State destroys sacred shrine in Mosul

The shrine of Prophet Jonah was held as sacred by Jews, Christians and Muslims.

Does Iraq's president hold any real power?

Iraqis are watching to see if new President Fouad Massoum will take the initiative and restore the privileges of the president’s position.

A white dove perches near a cross atop a church in Telkaif near Mosul, in the province of Nineveh, July 20, 2014. The head of Iraq's largest church said on Sunday that Islamic State militants who drove Christians out of Mosul were worse than Mongol leader Genghis Khan and his grandson Hulagu who ransacked medieval Baghdad. Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako led a wave of condemnation for the Sunni Islamists who demanded Christians either convert, submit to their radical rule and pay a religious

Stop violence in the name of religion

Religious leaders unite in a joint appeal against acts of violence in Mosul and across the region.

Residents shop at a market in the city of Mosul, June 24, 2014. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged leaders of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region on Tuesday to stand with Baghdad in the face of a Sunni insurgent onslaught that threatens to dismember the country. Picture taken June 24, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS CONFLICT BUSINESS SOCIETY) - RTR3VNJC

Iran dominates Iraqi market after occupation of Mosul

Doors closed to the markets of Turkey and Syria after militants took the town of Mosul, leading to a jump in prices for consumers, but a surge in imported Iranian goods could plug the gaps.

Smoke from a raging fire as a crude oil pipeline dwarfs a tree near Bayji,
some 40 km (25 miles) north of Tikrit, September 18, 2003. The cause of the
fire, which broke out on Wednesday night, is yet to be ascertained. The
pipilene is one of the main pipelines to carry crude oil from the northern
Iraqi city of Kirkuk to the export pipeline. NO RIGHTS CLEARANCES OR PERMISSIONS ARE REQUIRED FOR THIS IMAGE REUTERS/Arko
Datta

AD/ - RTR37AO

Echoes of apocalypse in Iraq conflict

Conflictingn parties' view of the current crisis in Iraq is affected by their own religious views and interpretation of the end of times.

People walk past a banner (in black and white) belonging to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the city of Mosul, June 28, 2014. Since early June, ISIL militants have overrun most majority Sunni Muslim areas in the north and west of Iraq, capturing the biggest northern city Mosul and late dictator Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. The banner reads, "There is no God but God, and Mohammad is his messenger." REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR3W71S

Why Islamic State is no al-Qaeda clone

The announcement by the Islamic State of the caliphate and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s self-proclamation as the caliph sets IS apart from Al-Qaeda.

Peshmerga to 'fill in' for Iraqi army in disputed areas

The secretary-general of the Ministry of Peshmerga, Jabbar Yawar, said in an interview with Al-Monitor that the peshmerga forces are merely taking defensive positions against armed groups and have not seized the Iraqi army’s weapons.

Saudis see Houthi gains in Yemen as advance for Iran

Many Saudis are interpreting the Houthis’ sudden advance toward the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, as a message from Iran that it will not tolerate a Sunni Islamist advance on Baghdad.