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Iraq

July 15, 2026

Baghdad 3:02 am

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Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi meets with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House, Washington, DC, July 14, 2026.

Trump hosts Iraqi PM Zaidi as Iran war intensifies

President Donald Trump emphasized Iraq’s “tremendous oil reserves” and possible deals with US companies.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi at a Council of Ministers meeting in Baghdad on July 11, 2026.

Analysis

On first foreign trip, Iraqi PM Zaidi woos Trump but Iran casts long shadow

Iraq's new prime minister is in Washington promising business deals and closer ties with the United States, but convincing the Trump administration he can rein in Iran-backed militias may prove his toughest challenge.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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

Latest News

Here's what to know about Iraq's corruption as Zaidi launches crackdown

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Iraqi PM’s anti-corruption drive comes as US pressure mounts on Iran-backed militias

aqi security personnel patrol in a vehicle along a street in Baghdad on June 28, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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.

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

A soldier waves to pilgrims marching towards Imam Moussa al-Kadhim shrine in Baghdad's Kadhimiya district June 4, 2013. Every year, thousands of Shi'ite pilgrims gather at the shrine to commemorate the death of Imam Moussa al-Kadhim, one of the 12 imams of Shi'ite, who was imprisoned for four years and poisoned by the then ruler Harun al-Rashid in 795 AD. REUTERS/Saad Shalash (IRAQ - Tags: RELIGION MILITARY) - RTX10B2B

Iraq’s Security Services in Crisis

Iraq's security services are finding themselves unable to prevent terrorism.

An employee of the state-run South Oil Company (SOC) walks near a new oil storage tank near the southern city of Basra January 14, 2013. The head of the state-run South Oil Company said the new facility will add a capacity of one million barrels to the existing 5.5 million barrels available. REUTERS/Atef Hassan (IRAQ - Tags: ENERGY) - RTR3CG6E

OPEC Again Excludes Iraq from Oil Quotas

Decades of war and international sanctions have greatly hindered Iraq’s oil production potential, an issue the current government is struggling to address.

An electrician uses an Avometer to check wires connected to his local generator on a street in Baghdad, December 13, 2011. Iraq's financial system is slowly embracing the free market after years of tight control under Saddam; a fledging stock market is attracting foreign money while the banking and telecommunications industries are growing rapidly. But the national grid provides only a few hours of intermittent power a day, forcing Iraqis to live off noisy diesel-fueled generators. Picture taken December 13

Iraq Suffers Power Crisis As Temperatures Soar

Frustration continues to mount in Iraq with the government unable to deliver sufficient electricity despite eight years of promises by officials.

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

A view of Hojjatieh seminary (bottom) and the holy shrine of Hazrat Ma'soumeh (top), the sister of the seventh shi'ite Muslim Imam Reza, in the holy city of Qom, 120 Km (75 miles) south of Tehran, March 9, 2011. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN - Tags: CITYSCAPE RELIGION) - RTR2JNXQ

Shiite Seminaries Divided On Fatwas for Syrian Jihad

While Shiite clergy in Iran and Iraq mostly prefer to stay out of issuing fatwas, a minority is calling for jihad in Syria against salafist groups.

ATTENTION EDITORS - VISUAL COVERAGE OF SCENES OF INJURY OR DEATH

An police officer inspects the site of a bomb attack at a coffee shop in Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, July 12, 2013. A bomb attack in a cafe in northern Iraq killed at least 31 people on Friday, police and medics said. The blast took place in the ethnically mixed city of Kirkuk, in a coffee shop where people had gathered after breaking their fast for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL U

During Ramadan, Militants Target Baghdad Liquor Stores, Cafes

Since the start of Ramadan, attacks by militants against liquor stores and other shops deemed “morally corrupt” have increased in Baghdad, with some accusing the government of being involved.

A view of al-Firdous square, where the statue of Saddam Hussein used to stand, in Baghdad April 9, 2012. U.S. Marines pulled down the statue of the dictator on April 9, 2003, marking the end of more than 35 years of iron-fisted rule by Saddam's Baath Party. REUTERS/Saad Shalash (IRAQ - Tags: CONFLICT POLITICS) - RTR30ITJ

Iraqi Politics Must Shake Legacy of Dictatorship

Although it has been 10 years since Saddam Hussein was ousted by US forces, Iraqi politics remain mired in the legacy of dictatorship.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) meets with Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu before attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) security meetings in Bandar Seri Begawan July 2, 2013. REUTERS/Jacquelyn Martin/Pool (BRUNEI - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX119IY

Al-Monitor’s Gursel Wins Award; Watch US House on Syria

Al-Monitor’s coverage of press freedom in Turkey, the US House of Representatives on Syria, and Iraq as possible mediator on Iran; Daoud Kuttab discusses the Middle East with Fareed Zakaria.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Kurdistan Regional President Masoud Barzani pose for the media before their meeting in Istanbul April 19, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer/Pool (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR30XVX

Turkey’s Missed Opportunities With the Kurds

Disarray in Turkish foreign policy is not allowing Turkey to play its rightful role in supporting Kurdish national unity.

Iraqi Ambassador Says Iraq Willing To Help Bridge US-Iran Divide

Lukman Faily, Iraq’s Ambassador to Washington, says his country is ready to help, if asked, to mend US-Iran ties.

Mourners pray at the coffin of a victim killed during an attack on a prison in Taji, during a funeral at the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad July 22, 2013. Sixteen soldiers and six militants were killed during an attack on the prison on Sunday in Taji, around 20 km (12 miles) north of Baghdad, but guards managed to prevent any inmates escaping. The attack was conducted simultaneously and followed a similar pattern as the attack on Abu Ghraib jail, where hundreds of convicts, in

Al-Qaeda Militants Raid Iraq's Abu Ghraib, Taji Prisons

Tenuous official accounts of what really transpired during the Abu Ghraib and Taji prison breaks leave many questions about the incident unanswered.

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

A vendor sits under an anti-Israel mural during a demonstration after Friday prayers in Tehran October 9, 2009. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN POLITICS RELIGION) - RTXPGS2

Ahmadinejad Tepidly Received On Final Iraq Visit

The final visit to Iraq by outgoing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad highlighted the mixed relations between the two countries during his term in office.

Kurdish women walk past a truck that was hit in the 1988 chemical attack at the memorial site for victims of the attack in the Kurdish town of Halabja, near Sulaimaniya, 260 km (160 miles) northeast of Baghdad, March 16, 2013. Iraqi Kurds on Saturday marked the 25th anniversary of the chemical attack on the northern Iraqi city of Halabja by Saddam Hussein's forces. Up to 5,000 people may have been killed by chemical gas, villages were razed and thousands of Kurds were forced into camps during the 1988 Anfal

Iraqi Kurdistan Fails to Address Violence Against Women

Violence, self-immolation and suicide continue to plague the Iraqi Kurdistan Region’s women, with a shortage of civic institutions to deal with these issues.