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Iraq

August 21, 2026

Baghdad 7:38 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

Mosul's new literary cafe brings together readers, budding writers

With its walls lined with books in Arabic, English, French, Spanish and Russian, Book Forum cafe provides a place for Mosul's youth to read, debate and smoke the hookah.

A woman poses in a group photo with a wooden cut-out depicting the ringstone symbol of the Baha'i faith during a carnival commemorating International Minority Rights Day in the southern Iraqi city of Basra on December 16, 2017. (Photo by HAIDAR MOHAMMED ALI / AFP) (Photo credit should read HAIDAR MOHAMMED ALI/AFP/Getty Images)

Iraqi official denies Bahaism as religion

An Iraqi official's statement against the Baha'i religion raises concerns of Baha'is and other religious minorities in Iraq.

Why has illiteracy rate gone up in Iraq?

As the Iraqi government has failed to improve the education sector, the illiteracy rate has increased significantly in different parts of the country.

A general view of a crude oil importing port in Qingdao, Shandong province, in this November 9, 2008 file photo. REUTERS/Stringer/Files ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. CHINA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN CHINA - GF10000374046

Asia buoys Iran as US sanctions hit

Iran is still selling considerable quantities of oil to China, Japan, India and South Korea thanks to US waivers and other mechanisms to circumvent sanctions.

Businesspeople intervene in bitter ties between Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan

Turkish businesspeople have launched a campaign to restore ties between Turkey and the Kurdistan Regional Government, which were hit hard last year after Kurdistan's independence referendum.

Baghdad policewomen's roles expand as they rise in ranks

As more women join Iraqi police forces and become more visible on the streets, they believe the public — and their colleagues — will become more accepting.

Masrour Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Regional Government's Security Council, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Erbil, Iraq, November 6, 2016. To match Interview MIDEAST-CRISIS/MOSUL-SECURITY REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - S1AEULGZEIAA

KDP names picks for Iraqi Kurdistan government

The conflict between the two main Kurdish parties in Iraq could make for political maneuvering among the smaller parties as Iraqi Kurdistan seeks to form a new government.

Former Iraqi Kurdish region President Masoud Barzani meets with Iraqi Shi'ite radical leader Muqtada al-Sadr in Najaf, Iraq November 23, 2018. REUTERS/Alaa al-Marjani - RC180BA2F8F0

Why Massoud Barzani returned to Baghdad

After a long breakup, KDP leader Massoud Barzani returned to Baghdad to strengthen Kurdistan's position in the capital.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a ceremony to mark the completion of the sea part of the TurkStream gas pipeline, in Istanbul, Turkey November 19, 2018. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC16FD451F00

Putin eyes visit to Baghdad amid growing Russian-Iraqi contacts

Contacts between Moscow and Baghdad have increased lately and President Putin may visit Iraq early next year.

Iran moves forward with railway link to Syria via Iraq

Iran is building a 20-mile stretch of railway that will connect railways throughout Iraq to neighboring Syria.

Corruption charges delay completion of Iraqi Cabinet

The political alliance that allowed Iraq to move forward in building a new government could be on the brink of collapse.

USAID money diverted to Syrian terrorist group

"Numerous instances" of diversion reported by US watchdog agency; US sanctions between Iraq and a hard place.