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Iraq

July 13, 2026

Baghdad 6:20 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

Families fleeing the violence in the Iraqi city of Mosul arrive at a checkpoint in outskirts of Arbil, in Iraq's Kurdistan region, June 10, 2014. Radical Sunni Muslim insurgents seized control of most of Iraq's second largest city of Mosul early on Tuesday, overrunning a military base and freeing hundreds of prisoners in a spectacular strike against the Shi'ite-led Iraqi government. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR3T260

ISIS weighs approach on Baghdad

The fall of Mosul into the hands of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) is an indicator of the breakdown in the Iraqi army, and shows the necessity to unify the ranks in Iraq to fight terrorism.

People ride a motorcycle belonging to the Iraqi army at a Kurdish military checkpoint on the outskirts of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk June 11, 2014. Kurdish forces initially attempted to stop people driving vehicles looted from the Iraqi army at the checkpoint but eventually let them through as there were too many of them. Sunni insurgents from an al Qaeda splinter group extended their control from the northern city of Mosul on Wednesday to an area further south that includes Iraq's biggest oil refine

Iraqi soldier describes army 'without leadership' in Mosul

The governor of Ninevah province, Atheel al-Nujaifi, blames "Maliki and his policies" for the fall of Mosul.

Burnt vehicles are seen during clashes between Iraqi security forces and al Qaeda-linked Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the northern Iraq city of Mosul, June 10, 2014. Radical Sunni Muslim insurgents seized control of most of Iraq's second largest city of Mosul early on Tuesday, overrunning a military base and freeing hundreds of prisoners in a spectacular strike against the Shi'ite-led Iraqi government. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR3T3UD

Iran officials call for international response to ISIS violence

Iranian officials respond to the fall of Mosul to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham extremists.

Syrian Kurds continue to blame Turkey for backing ISIS militants

In a report from northeast Syria, Syrian Kurds, locked in a bloody battle with the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), also fear a potential clash with Syrian government forces.

A man, who was injured during a suicide bomber attack in Mwafaqiya village at Mosul, lies in a hospital bed after he was brought for treatment in a hospital in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region, June 6, 2014. Militants fought Iraqi security forces in the northern city of Mosul on Friday, a day after parts of another city were briefly overrun by insurgents. A curfew was imposed on Mosul on Thursday, when Sunni Islamist insurgents moved into parts of the city of Samarra, bringing them wit

ISIS 'hit and run' tactics reveal Iraqi security weaknesses

The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) is briefly occupying Sunni neighborhoods then immediately withdrawing, to weaken confidence in Iraqi forces and display its power.

Iraqi Shi'ite youths use computers at an internet cafe in Sadr City in Baghdad May 3, 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 3, 20

Iraqi entrepreneurs strike it rich reselling goods on Facebook

Iraqi entrepreneurs have launched Facebook pages selling US and European products to Iraqis, who usually do not have access to international goods.

Blindfolded suspected militants, with possible links to al-Qaeda, are seen at Iraqi police headquarters in Diyala province, north of Baghdad December 5, 2011. Police forces arrested 30 suspected militants during a raid in Diyala province, a police source said. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CONFLICT) - RTR2UVUD

Transitional justice fails in Iraq

After the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, measures to implement transitional justice have been largely unsuccessful.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY SALAM FARAJ
An Iraqi boy uses the light at the end of a lighter to study during a power outage in Baghdad on March 19, 2014. As recently as the 1970s, the Iraqi capital was lauded as a model city in the Arab world, but now, after decades of seemingly endless conflict, it is the world's worst city according to the latest survey by the Mercer consulting group. AFP PHOTO/ALI AL-SAADI (Photo credit should read ALI AL-SAADI/AFP/Getty Images)

Lights out on Maliki's electricity promises

Ali al-Fayyad, deputy head of the Iraqi parliament's Energy Committee, said he's hoping the private sector steps in to ease the electricity crisis that the people have suffered from for decades, especially in the scorching summer months.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani shake hands before their meeting in Istanbul April 19, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer/Pool (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR30XVH

How Turkey lost its influence in Iraq

Ankara's tilt toward the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has undermined its once considerable influence in Iraq.

Un Muayad, (L) a Ramadi resident fighting alongside tribal fighters, fires her rifle during clashes with the al Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Ramadi May 19, 2014. Muayad has been fighting against the Al-Qaeda branch since the the beginning of the uprising in her city, where a relative of her husband was killed by the ISIL. More than 420,000 people have already escaped the two main cities of western Anbar province, Falluja and Ramadi, in fighting since the start of the year. Res

Maliki’s call for unity conference in Anbar may be too late

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki recently called for a conference to solve the Anbar crisis, which might be futile if the tribal and political differences are not settled first.

Iraq's Kurdistan Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani speaks at the Iraq-Kurdistan Oil and Gas Conference at Arbil in Iraq's Kurdistan region, December 2, 2013. Turkey said on Monday it stood by a bilateral oil deal with Iraq's Kurdistan region that bypassed central government but wanted to win Baghdad's support by drawing it into the arrangement. Reuters reported that Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan signed a multi-billion-dollar energy package last week, infuriating a central Baghdad government which claims sole au

KRG risks isolation in Iraq by exporting oil through Turkey

Erbil’s decision to export oil without consulting the Baghdad government could also increase Turkish leverage on the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

A worker adjusts the valve of an oil pipe at Khurmala oilfield on the outskirts of the city of Arbil, in Iraq's Kurdistan region December 4, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - RTX163IS

Turkey’s Kurdish oil gamble

Turkey’s sale of Iraqi Kurdish crude oil could backfire for Ankara and the Kurdistan Regional Government.