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Iraq

August 21, 2026

Baghdad 12:20 pm

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Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government, gives a press conference in the autonomous region's capital Arbil on June 25, 2025.

Interview

Barzani calls for enhanced air defense for Kurdistan Region to counter drone attacks

Iraqi Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani backs US-led regional economic integration efforts and lauds US partnership in an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor.

Masrour Barzani

Masrour Barzani

KRG Prime Minister

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images

Exclusive

Saudi Arabia wants Iran-backed militia 'heads to roll' in Iraq amid talks with Tehran

Riyadh is pressing Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to act against the groups behind attacks on the kingdom as Baghdad struggles to balance ties with Tehran and Washington.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Iraq seeks special Hormuz access from Iran in scramble to keep oil flowing

As Iran's parliament speaker holds talks in Baghdad, Iraq has asked Tehran for special consideration for its oil exports.

Latest News

Iran’s Ghalibaf makes high-level visit to Iraq ahead of disarmament deadline

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf speaks during a press conference at the site where Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed by a US airstrike in 2020 near the airport upon his arrival in Baghdad, on Aug. 19, 2026.

Explainer

Why Iran targeted Barzani family stronghold in Iraqi Kurdistan

Smoke rises after explosions were heard and air defences activated near the airport in Erbil, on July 24, 2026.

Iraq intel and security officials visit Saudi Arabia after drone attacks

A man inspects the damage at the site of a strike in Bartalla, in the northern Iraq's Nineveh province, after US-Saudi attacks on militias, July 29, 2026.

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. 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.

Basra protests build in Iraq as substandard services persist

As summer arrives in Iraq, a new wave of demonstrations is beginning in the south, possibly jeopardizing Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi's government.

Kurdish region's Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani speaks during a news conference in Erbil, Iraq November 6, 2017. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RC1D69B71E20

Nechirvan Barzani in Baghdad to discuss oil

The KRG's new president, Nechirvan Barzani, traveled to Baghdad to meet the Iraqi prime minister and discuss the two sides' outstanding oil dispute.

Pope Francis arrives to takes part in a conference in Naples, Italy June 21, 2019. REUTERS/Ciro de Luca - RC158DB9C340

Iraqis welcome Pope Francis' plan to visit in 2020

Following several requests made by Iraqi leaders to Pope Francis to visit Iraq, he reveals his desire to come next year.

BEIRUT, LEBANON - JUNE 19 : (----EDITORIAL USE ONLY MANDATORY CREDIT - "LEBANESE PRIME MINISTRY OFFICE / HANDOUT" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS----) Russian Presidential Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev (L) meets Lebanese President Michel Aoun (R) in Beirut, Lebanon on June 19, 2019. (Photo by LEBANESE PRIME MINISTRY OFFICE / HANDOUT/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Russian diplomats sweep through Lebanon, Iraq, Syria

Russia's Syria envoy Alexander Lavrentiev and others recently paid important visits to the Middle East to present Russia’s refugee plan and discuss the latest regional developments.

Turkish army tanks control the centre of the old medieval Kurdish town of Ammadiya, July 13. 2004. Turkish forces entered Iraq's Kurdish zone in 1997 under a year-long agreement with Kurdish authorities to pursue militants from a Turkish Kurd rebel group, but with their territory now part of a newly sovereign Iraq, Kurds feel the Turks may have overstayed their welcome. Picture taken July 13, 2004. REUTERS/Sasa Kralj RCS/DBP - RP5DRICSWDAA

Turkey mulls permanent military presence in northern Iraq

Turkey is considering setting up additional military infrastructure in Iraqi Kurdistan as its operations against militants there continue.

Iraqi parliamentary groupings join hands in bid to oust Abdel Mahdi

A bloc of Iraqi political parties comes together to form a strong opposition against Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi in an apparent bid to remove him from office.

Kirkuk court issues arrest warrant for acting governor

An integrity court in Kirkuk has issued an arrest warrant for Rakan Saeed al-Jabouri, the acting governor of Kirkuk, on financial corruption charges.