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Iraq

October 5, 2026

Baghdad 1:00 pm

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A member of the Iraqi security forces flashes the victory sign during a military parade

Explainer

What Iraq’s US troop withdrawal means for security after Kirkuk killings

As Iraq assumes full responsibility for its security following the coalition’s withdrawal, a disputed counterterrorism operation in Kirkuk is raising questions about accountability, public trust and lingering security gaps.

Members of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) paramilitary forces stand guard during an election rally for the "Asaib Ahl al-Haq" movement in the capital Baghdad, on October 7, 2021.

Analysis

After US exit, Iran gains space in Iraq and a harder balancing act

For Iran, the easier part may have been getting Washington out, but it may now have to struggle turning the absence into durable influence and reviving its allied militias without provoking instability.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

US President Donald Trump meets Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) on the sidelines of the NATO Summit at Bestepe Presidential Compound in Ankara, on July 8, 2026.

Trump’s integration policies build on Gulf, Turkey ties and Syria success

Iran’s influence, and the potential for renewed conflict, complicate progress in Iraq.

Latest News

Iraq announces Iran flights to resume: What to know

An Airbus A321 airliner arrives at the Mehrabad international airport during the delivery of the first batch of planes to the Iranian state airline Iran Air in the capital Tehran on Jan. 12, 2017.

Analysis

Can Turkey’s Bashiqa withdrawal pave the way for deeper Iraq ties?

Turkish soldiers conduct military exercises near the Habur crossing gate between Turkey and Iraq on Sept. 27, 2017 in the Silopi district, southeast Turkey.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

How militias in Anbar could complicate Iraq’s energy ambitions

Iraqi soldiers from the new 'desert battalion' special forces stand next to military vehicles as the take part in a graduation ceremony, after months of training by the French military, at the Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar west of Baghdad on February 29, 2024. (Photo by Ahmad AL-RUBAYE / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

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

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence delivers remarks to U.S. troops at a U.S. military facility at Erbil International Airport in Erbil, Iraq November 23, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC22HD9OIH8O

Intel: Why Iraqi Kurdistan may be wary of hosting US troops

Torn between Iran and the United States, former Iraqi Kurdistan President Masoud Barzani appeared to distance himself on Tuesday from Republican proposals to station US troops in Kurdish territory should Baghdad move forward with threats to expel the Americans in the aftermath of Washington’s assassination of Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani.

ERBIL, IRAQ - JANUARY 08: Iraqi security forces find and collect the pieces of missiles as they gather to inspect the site after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq, a facility jointly operated by U.S. and Iraqi forces, at Bardarash district of Erbil in Iraq on January 08, 2020. (Photo by Azad Muhammed/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

As Khamenei boasts of 'slap' at US, Zarif says revenge 'concluded'

Tehran-Washington tensions are reaching all-time highs after Iran hit US military bases in neighboring Iraq with ballistic missiles.

Residents look at a crater caused by a missile launched by Iran on U.S.-led coalition forces on the outskirts of Duhok ,Iraq, January 8, 2020. REUTERS/Ari Jalal - RC2KBE9RW1T9

Did Iran missiles carry message for Kurds?

Iran's ballistic missile attack on US military targets in Iraq may have been a warning to the Kurds not to stand with the United States.

Has the time come for US-Iran negotiations?

Iran's attack on a US military base in Iraq resulted in no casualties, possibly opening space for US-Iran negotiations.

U.S. President Donald Trump, with first lady Melania Trump, delivers remarks to U.S. troops in an unannounced visit to Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, December 26, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC1B49CC86F0

Iranian missiles strike coalition installations in Iraq

Iran fired 15 ballistic missiles at Iraqi bases housing US and coalition troops on Tuesday night, a US Central Command spokesperson confirmed to Al-Monitor, in a possible escalation of tensions between the United States and Iran after a Pentagon drone strike killed a top Iranian military leader last week.

A drone and armored vehicles serve as a backdrop as U.S. Vice President Mike Pence delivers remarks to U.S. troops at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq November 23, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC29HD9HDU3K

Iraqi base housing US troops hit as Iran tensions escalate

Iran launched an attack against Iraqi bases housing American troops with over a dozen ballistic missiles.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo takes questions during a news conference in the Press Briefing Room at the State Department in Washington, U.S., January 7, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner - RC24BE9BAMTN

Pompeo mocks claim Soleimani was part of Iraq-brokered Iran-Saudi indirect talks

The US secretary of state discounted the Iraqi prime minister's claim that on the day Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani was killed in Baghdad, he was going to pass on an Iranian message as part of indirect Iranian-Saudi communications.

A U.S. Army soldier from 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Task Force-Iraq, mans an observation post at Forward Operating Base Union III in Baghdad, Iraq, December 31, 2019. U.S. Army/Maj. Charlie Dietz/Task Force-Iraq Public Affairs/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC2P6E92P5WW

US questions whether Iraq can boot American troops

After Iraq's parliament urged US troops to leave the country Sunday, the White House and some Iraqi lawmakers are raising questions about whether Iraq's caretaker prime minister has the authority to kick out US forces.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and his delegation meet with President of the Kurdistan region in Iraq Nechirvan Barzani in the VIP terminal at Erbil International Airport in Erbil, Iraq November 23, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC29HD9C15KU

Iraq's Kurds weigh opportunities, risks in wake of Soleimani killing

Can the Kurdistan Regional Government help out the United States as it faces Iraqi anger over the Soleimani killing, and does the KRG want to risk doing so?

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks to U.S. troops in an unannounced visit to Al Asad Air Base, Iraq December 26, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC1801320710

US withdrawal from Iraq is Israel’s worst-case scenario

The leaked letter published this week about the United States considering withdrawing from Iraq and Syria generated great concern within the Israeli security establishment.

A member of Iraqi security forces walks near burning tyres at the reception room of the U.S. Embassy, during a protest to condemn air strikes on bases belonging to Hashd al-Shaabi (paramilitary forces), in Baghdad, Iraq January 1, 2020. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC207E9KASMJ

US-Iran tensions shift Iraq from brink of reform to brink of war

After its assassination of a major player in Iraq, the United States must now engage with the anti-government, pro-reform nationalist protesters in Iraq in order to push against Iranian influence in the country.

Russian military personnel attend a memorial service for the late Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, at the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria, January 5, 2020. REUTERS/Yamam Al Shaar - RC2Q9E9GR7ZS

How Soleimani’s assassination could affect Iran’s Syria strategy

Iran could use its position in Syria to strike against the United States and Israel as part of Tehran's retaliation for last week's killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani.