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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

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.

Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp, attends a news conference in Tehran February 7, 2011. REUTERS/STRINGER (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTXXKFA

Revolutionary Guard calls Iran 'island of stability'

The head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps has said that the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s was instrumental in bolstering Iran's security.

Iraqi Shi'ite Turkmen fighters take part in an intensive security deployment in the town of Taza, south of the northern oil city of Kirkuk, June 19, 2014. The United States is contemplating talks with its arch-enemy Iran to support the Iraqi government in its battle with Sunni Islamist insurgents who routed Baghdad's army and seized the north of the country in the past week. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR3UORW

Iraqi Turkmen feel abandoned by Turkey

Many Iraqi Turkmen claim Turkey has given priority to its relations with the Kurdistan Regional Government at their expense.

Free Syrian Army fighters stand at a former base used by fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), after the ISIL withdrew from the town of Azaz, near the Syrian-Turkish border, March 11, 2014. Syrian refugees in this border outpost were delighted to hear their home town of Azaz had been liberated - not from Bashar al-Assad's troops but from al-Qaeda fighters who subjected them to a regime that included torture and public beheadings. For Syrians who three years ago rose up against 43 ye

ISIS advance should mean more arms for Syrian opposition

The advance of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) into Iraq should spur action to bolster moderate Syrian opposition groups against both ISIS and the Assad government.

Egyptian-born Muslim cleric Yusuf Al-Qaradawi arrives at the London Central Mosque, July 9, 2004. Leading Muslim theologian Qaradawi, who condemned the September 11 attacks and the Bali bomb but condones some suicide bombings, will have all his speeches monitored whilst he is in Britain, Britain's Home Secretary David Blunkett said on July 7. REUTERS/Peter Macdiarmid PKM/ASA/WS - RTR67I1

Radical clerics add fuel to fire in Iraq crisis

Amid the advancement of militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and other armed groups in Iraq, radical Sunni and Shiite clerics are issuing statements that flare up the sectarian tension in the country.

Fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) celebrate on vehicles taken from Iraqi security forces, at a street in city of Mosul, June 12, 2014. Since Tuesday, black clad ISIL fighters have seized Iraq's second biggest city Mosul and Tikrit, home town of former dictator Saddam Hussein, as well as other towns and cities north of Baghdad. They continued their lightning advance on Thursday, moving into towns just an hour's drive from the capital. Picture taken June 12, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer (I

Mosul's rude awakening on ISIS

Edward Dark writes that Iraqis who may have welcomed the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) as liberators will soon have a rude awakening; a first-hand report of Syria’s barrel bombs; the ISIS threat to Lebanon; video of the IPI Free Media Pioneer Awards.

How a Turkish girl broke the heart of a shah

In her latest book, Turkish novelist Nazli Eray shares the story of her mother, a woman whose beauty once stunned Middle East elites and left the Iranian shah heartbroken.

$Supporters of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad wave the national flags and chant slogans in front of General Federation of Trade Unions building, during presidential election in Damascus June 3, 2014. Syrians began voting on Tuesday in an election expected to deliver an overwhelming victory to President Bashar al-Assad in the midst of a civil war that has fractured the country and killed more than 160,000 people. REUTERS/ Omar Sanadiki (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3RXFT$

Can Syria help defeat ISIS?

The Syrian government, which has recently engaged the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) in battle, might share an interest with the United States in defeating the terror organization.

Mehdi Army fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr march during a military-style training in the holy city of Najaf, June 16, 2014. The United States said it could launch air strikes and act jointly with its arch-enemy Iran to support the Iraqi government, after a rampage by Sunni Islamist insurgents across Iraq that has scrambled alliances in the Middle East. REUTERS/Ahmad Mousa (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR3U41A

Escalating crisis drives surge in Iraq's messianic movements

Political and economic hardships in Iraq have contributed to the rise of radical Messianic movements that claim to represent the return of the Mahdi.

Iraqi soldiers stand beside Al-Yaroubia crossing in the province of Hasakah November 10, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT MILITARY) - RTX158J9

Iraqi Kurds seize control of key Syria border crossing

The Syria-based Democratic Union Party (PYD) fears a return to isolation after a Kurdish rival, the Iraq-based Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), captures the Rabia border crossing.

Iraqi Shiite Turkmen Families fleeing the violence in the Iraqi city of Tal Afar, west of Mosul arrive at Shangal, a town in Nineveh province, June 17, 2014. The mainly Turkmen city of Tal Afar, west of Mosul, fell to Sunni militants late on Sunday, and the Iraqi military said it was sending reinforcement there. The Iraqi army said on state television it had killed a top militant, named Abu Abdul Rahman al-Muhajir, in Mosul in clashes. Picture taken June 17, 2014. REUTERS/ Ari Jala (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNR

Ex-Saddam Baathists unite in Ninevah campaign

A member of the Iraqi Baath Party claims that 14 different factions, including the Baathists, were involved in the takeover of Ninevah province on June 10.

A man walks on debris of collapsed buildings at a damaged site hit by what activists said was a barrel bomb dropped by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo's al-Ansari neighbourhood June 18, 2014. REUTERS/Hosam Katan (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR3UEWE

Aleppo fears new ISIS offensive

Syrian regime forces and rebels holed up in Aleppo worry that ISIS' newfound power and advanced military hardware in Iraq will result in a renewed offensive on Aleppo.

A woman walks past the site of a car bomb attack in Baghdad's Sadr City, June 18, 2014. At least 13 people were killed and 30 others wounded in a car bomb explosion in Baghdad's mainly Shi'ite neighbourhood of Sadr City, according to police and hospital officials. REUTERS/Wissm al-Okili (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR3UDVU

Iraq's warring powers approach sectarian faultlines

The battle between Iraqi forces and the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) could get even more brutal as the conflict occurs in Sunni-Shiite contact points.