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

Iran cover image

Iraq

August 21, 2026

Baghdad 10:21 pm

34°C

Zaidi

Iraq’s Zaidi doubles down on militia disarmament, boosting oil exports

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi made the comments amid Hormuz-related export struggles and a nearing deadline for armed groups to disarm.

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

Latest News

Explainer

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

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images

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.

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

US President Donald Trump (C-L), Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (C-R), Jordan's King Abdullah II (3-R), Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (2-R) and other officials pose for a group photo during the Arab Islamic American Summit at the King Abdulaziz Conference Center in Riyadh on May 21, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Saudi belligerence on Iran threatens US

Saudi Arabia’s anti-Iran and anti-Shiite policy is creating a toxic environment in which the US administration must exercise great care.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (R) talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, June 19, 2017. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC149073CBE0

Saudi Arabia eyes Iraq's Anbar for potential investments

Riyadh is considering significant investments in Iraq's Anbar province, but is facing opposition from certain Iraqi political forces and Shiite factions.

Stymied in Syria, Turkey quietly ups actions against PKK in Iraq

Turkey has slowed its military operations in Syria and appears to be shifting attention to northern Iraq to intensify operations against the Kurdistan Workers Party.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attends a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia January 10, 2018. REUTERS/Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool? - UP1EE1A1NCZOZ

Iran FM: Trump administration 'never in' nuclear deal

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif spoke about Tehran’s potential response as the United States weighs pulling out of the nuclear deal.

Iraqi comic strip collective tells stories of war, rebirth

Mesaha, an Iraqi comix group, had its first European debut at Switzerland's Fumetto festival, yet visa obligations stopped the artists from presenting their own works.

A worker cleans the street next to a campaign poster of candidates ahead of the parliamentary election, in Najaf, Iraq, April 14, 2018. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani - RC155ACA6900

Religious disputes escalate over upcoming Iraqi elections

Religious leaders in Iraq are calling on voters to exercise caution in the upcoming elections and avoid casting votes for corrupt politicians.

Iraqi musicians fight to revive ancient art of maqam

A handful of enthusiasts are trying to save Iraq's age-old melodic system known as maqam, which was placed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008.

Electronic vote counting sparks controversy ahead of Iraqi polls

Despite the advantages offered by electronic counting and sorting devices in the Iraqi elections, fears remain that the results will be falsified.

Kurdish Peshmerga forces detain Islamic State militants southwest of Kirkuk, Iraq October 5, 2017. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed - RC168144D210

Rural areas southwest of Kirkuk grapple with fears of IS sleeper cells

The Fatha road snakes behind the heavily damaged Beiji oil refinery, crossing between the low-altitude Hamreen and Makhoul mountain ranges into an area of okra fields and mullahs who fear Islamic State (IS) sleeper cells.

Tribal leaders gather for a meeting in Mosul on August 30, 2017 to discuss the security situation after Iraqi forces reseized the city from the Islamic State (IS) group in July.
Iraqi troops backed by a US-led international coalition routed IS in Mosul in July after a gruelling nine-month fight for Iraq's second city. / AFP PHOTO / AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images)

Will Iraq's new 'tribal court' undermine rule of law?

A group of tribal sheikhs will be appointed by the Ministry of Justice to intervene as arbitrators to resolve disputes and conflicts between Iraqi tribes, which some fear will undermine the rule of law in Iraq.

The dueling ayatollahs

Khamenei, Sistani, and the fight for the soul of Shiite Islam

Iraqi police who fought for tribal PMUs won't return to force

Local Iraqi police officers who joined the Popular Mobilization Units to fight the Islamic State seem to have no intention of returning to their old jobs.