Iraq - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

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Iraq

February 23, 2026

Baghdad 2:10 pm

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US court overturns Trump global tariffs: What it means for MENA

Trump's defining economic policy of his second term has been dealt a key blow, upending a tariff regime that set levies in the Middle East as high as 41% for Syria even as most regional countries were insulated from the fallout.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands amid debris outside the Soroka Hospital in the southern city of Beersheba, after it was hit by a missile fired from Iran on June 19, 2025. Israel's defence minister warned that Iran's supreme leader "can no longer be allowed to exist" after a hospital was hit in an Iranian missile strike on June 19, spiking tensions in the week-old war. (Photo by Marc Israel SELLEM / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Despite warnings from Israel's defense elite, Netanyahu pushes for Iran strike

Although Israeli advisers warn against appearing to drag the US into war, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not hidden his desire to help topple the Islamic Republic.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Iraqis raise their flags during a protest at the entrance to the Hanging Bridge, one of the entrances to the Green Zone in Baghdad on Jan. 28, 2026.

In letter, US lays out 7 demands for next Iraqi PM, with emphasis on Iran

The Trump administration is pressing Baghdad on Iranian influence and the nomination of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, with Iraq's top diplomat claiming the US stipulations include a "hint" toward potential sanctions.

Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki delivers a speech during a campaign rally for the State of Law Coalition ahead of the country's parliamentary elections in Baghdad on Nov. 7, 2025.

Analysis

Can Maliki overcome Trump opposition to reclaim Iraq’s PM post?

US President Donald Trump’s opposition to the former prime minister and reports of potential retribution toward Iraq are receiving pushback in the country, which is already suffering from political paralysis.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Latest News

Exclusive

100 non-Syrian Kurds return to PKK’s Qandil stronghold under SDF-Damascus deal

SDF commander in chief, Mazlum Kobane, meets with Nechirvan Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, on Feb. 5, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Iraq’s Maliki rejects Trump criticism, vows to stay in PM race

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki speaks during a press conference on May 11, 2011, at the green zone area in Baghdad, Iraq.

How US-India trade deal could impact Mideast energy, trade routes

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on Feb. 13, 2025.

Iraq's Shiite bloc holds talks with Kurds as deadlock on president, PM persists

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani meets the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani, in Erbil on Monday.

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

Can Iraq get its water wheels on UNESCO World Heritage List?

Local academics believe that water wheels, used all around the world, were discovered on the banks of the Euphrates River in Anbar province and should be on the World Heritage List.

Children of families of Islamic State militants are see after they surrender themselves to the Kurdish Peshmerga forces in al-Ayadiya, northwest of Tal Afar, Iraq August 30, 2017. REUTERS/Ari Jalal - RC1E67598CF0

Iraq seeks to issue identification papers for IS children

Many children born under Islamic State rule in Iraq do not have Iraqi citizenship, but the government is seeking to change that.

Fighters of Hashed Al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization units) gather around the Tal Afar airport, west of Mosul, as they and Iraqi forces backed by local militia and a US-led coalition advance in driving the Islamic State group from the city, on August 27, 2017.
Just a week after authorities announced an offensive to push the jihadists from one of their last major urban strongholds in Iraq, the Joint Operations Command said Iraqi forces held all 29 districts of the city and were pursuing final mopping up opera

Shiite militias react angrily to decree integrating them into Iraqi forces

Pro-Iran Shiite militias in Iraq reacted with displeasure to the prime minister's decree to integrate the Popular Mobilization Units into the Iraqi military forces, but the majority of the PMU are pledging allegiance to Baghdad.

Palestinian Authority woos Iraq, says Iran is no enemy

Nabil Shaath, an adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, traveled to Iraq to galvanize Baghdad's support for the Palestinian cause and perhaps make new connections with Iran along the way.

Iraq throws Turkey curveball in bilateral trade

Baghdad’s recent restrictions on imported goods have badly bruised Turkey’s food exporters, calling into question the target of $20 billion in bilateral trade.

Will Iraq cut a deal to prosecute foreign IS fighters?

Iraq is seeking to prosecute foreign Islamic State fighters held in Syria, even if they did not commit crimes in Iraq.

Members of Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) take part in a military parade in the town of Taza, south of the northern oil city of Kirkuk, Iraq June 28, 2019. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed - RC1A38BBA4F0

Iraq orders militias to fully integrate into state security forces

In an important move amid US-Iran tensions, the Iraqi prime minister issued a decree ordering the Popular Mobilization Units to come under the full control of the state.

U.S. Army Gen. Joseph Votel, commander of the U.S. Central Command, testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington March 9, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein - RC1CF13A3590

Top US general’s retirement marks turning point in Mideast operations

Will Gen. Joseph Votel's retirement result in the end of US low-budget warfare in the region?

ESKISEHIR, TURKEY - JUNE 12: Turkish Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar monitors the air operations towards Iraq's Qandil, Sinjar, Hakurk and Avasin-Basyan regions at Combined Air Operations Center in Eskisehir, Turkey on June 12, 2018. (Photo by Sarp Ozer/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Turkey continues bombing Iraqi Kurdistan amid Iraq's strong objection

Turkish fighter jets bombard Qandil Mountains inside Iraqi Kurdistan, leaving dozens of civilians killed and wounded.

Baghdad cabbies struggle with change as Green Zone opens up

Baghdad's taxi drivers face new challenges with the reopening of the Green Zone having to compete with ride share apps and helicopter and river transport services.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump attend a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan June 28, 2019. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC148D85F430

The Art of the Deal: Trump turns to Putin on Iran

‘A diplomatic way out’; Iran’s patience runs out; Trump has ‘all the time in the world’; Oil for Food 2.0?; Iraq, Afghanistan and prisoners: Steps in the right direction?

Egypt keen on joining reconstruction of Libya, Iraq

The Builders of Egypt Forum presented opportunities for construction companies to take part in the reconstruction processes in Libya and Iraq to compensate for the lack of projects at home.