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Iraq

July 15, 2026

Baghdad 6:20 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

Supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi shout anti-army slogans during a protest in Cairo July 9, 2013. Egypt's interim President Adli Mansour on Tuesday named liberal economist and former finance minister Hazem el-Beblawi as prime minister in a transitional government, as the authorities sought to steer the country to new parliamentary and presidential elections. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX11HY6

Iran, Iraq React Differently to Morsi's Fall

A comparison of the Iraqi and Iranian reactions to the situation in Egypt shows a profound difference in their perspectives on democracy.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (R) shakes hands with Iraqi Kurdish President Masoud Barzani (L) in Baghdad, July 7, 2013. Barzani visited Baghdad on Sunday for the first time in more than two years, in a symbolic step to resolve disputes between the central government and the autonomous region over land and oil. The visit follows an equally rare trip by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki who met Barzani in Kurdistan last month, breaking ice between leaders who have repeatedly accused each other of vi

What are Egypt's Lessons for Iraq?

Having less to do with regional sectarian Sunni-Shiite disputes, Iraq’s political players should focus on the failure of political Islam in their analyses of the June 30 events in Egypt.

A resident walks past election campaign posters on Baghdad's Saadoun street January 3, 2009. The January 31 local election will apportion 440 seats on local councils that in turn name powerful regional governors. REUTERS/Saad Shalash (IRAQ) - RTR230LK

Iraqi Provincial Law Renews Debate Over Centralization

Whether Iraq’s various regions and provinces should be governed in a more centralized or decentralized manner continues as the focal point of political conflict in the country.

Goldsmith shops are seen in a market in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad March 12, 2012. Gunmen often carry out lethal robbery attacks on goldsmith shops mostly in Baghdad, with the latest heist on a gold market on Monday causing the death of nine people. Picture taken March 12, 2012. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ - Tags: CRIME LAW BUSINESS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR2ZBBG

Failed Banking System Prompts Iraqis to Hoard Gold

As Iraq continues to suffer from an array of security problems, citizens have lost faith in the banking sector and are converting their money to gold to store at home.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (L) attends the International Islamic Conference for the Convergence and Dialogue in Baghdad April 27, 2013. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) - RTXZ1ML

Iraqi Parliament Prepares Battery Of New Legislation

Amid ongoing controversy, the Iraqi parliament is preparing to pass three different laws dealing with criminalizing the Baath Party and regulations for the court and political parties.

A worker adjusts a pipe at the Nassiriya oilfield in Nassiriya, 300km (185 miles) southeast of Baghdad,September 8, 2012. Production from Iraq's southern oilfields is at 2.5 million barrels per day as the country edges closer to becoming the world's biggest source of new supplies over the next few years, a senior Iraqi oil official said. Picture taken September 8, 2012. REUTERS/Atef Hassan (IRAQ - Tags: ENERGY BUSINESS) - RTR37U0U

Iraqi Provinces Consider More Autonomy in Managing Oil Wealth

An Iraqi researcher suggests that provinces across the country producing oil take advantage of the autonomy provided by amendments to the provincial administration laws.

Kasbana Hassan gestures inside her burnt out house, where four Egyptian Shi'ites were killed, in the suburb of Zawiyat Abu Musallem, on the outskirts of Cairo, June 24, 2013. Egypt's government promised "exemplary punishment" on Monday after the mob killing of four Shi'ite Muslims near Cairo raised fears of wider sectarian bloodshed at a time of grave national crisis. In Sunday's violence in the suburb of Zawiyat Abu Musallem, in sight of the Giza pyramids, a crowd ransacked and torched the house of a famil

Shiite Leaders in Iraq, Iran React to Egypt Killings

The killing of Egyptian Shiite preacher Hassan Shehata has led many Shiite leaders in Iraq and Iran to call for adherents to tone down sectarian rhetoric.

Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr speaks to the media during a visit to the Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad January 4, 2013. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: RELIGION) - RTR3C3HO

Sadr Talks Big to US Ambassador

While Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's popularity wanes, radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr looks to boost his own appeal with harsh words for the United States.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (R) speaks next to his Iraqi Kurdish counterpart Nechirvan Barzani during a meeting of the Council of Ministers in Arbil, about 350 km (220 miles) north of Baghdad June 9, 2013. Maliki visited the Kurdistan region on Sunday for the first time in more than two years, in an attempt to resolve a long-running dispute over oil and land that has strained Iraq's unity to the limit. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX10H5T

Iraqi Federal Court Delays Ruling on Term-Limit Law

The Iraqi Federal Supreme Court has yet to rule on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's challenge of a term-limit law, which leads some to believe the court is awaiting the results of the 2014 elections.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara June 25, 2013. Turkish anti-terrorism police detained 20 people in raids in the capital Ankara on Tuesday in connection with weeks of anti-government protests across the country, media reports said. The unrest began at the end of May when police used force against campaigners opposed to plans to redevelop a central Istanbul park. The protest spiralled int

Turkey's Political Fallout On Iraqi Kurdish Crude

Relying upon Ankara as a sole energy transit route without an agreement with Baghdad may further delay the Kurdistan Region’s energy production potential.

Clerics work on computers at a religious research center associated with the seminary in Qom, 120 km (75 miles) south of Tehran February 2, 2009. REUTERS/Caren Firouz (IRAN) - RTXB5VD

Iran’s Seminarians React To Rouhani’s Election

Qom Seminary in Iran seems to have pinned its hopes on Rouhani's ability to reduce international pressure and restore the clergy's standing domestically.

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 Kurdistan Seeks Cinema Revival

With Erbil slated to be the 2014 Arab Capital of Tourism, the city has teamed up with the private sector to build 14 movie theaters, decades after general interest in cinema had dwindled.