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Iraq

October 8, 2026

Baghdad 11:28 pm

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A man walks past a closed foreign exchange office in Baghdad on October 7, 2026. Iraq's central bank devalued the dinar currency against the dollar on October 7, with the country facing a deepening crisis brought on by the Middle East war. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images)

Iraq devalues dinar 13% as Hormuz disruption hits oil revenue

The central bank said in a statement that it had revised the official exchange rate to 1,520 Iraqi dinars per dollar from around 1,320.

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

Ahmed al-Asadi, spokeman for Shi'ite paramilitary group Hashd Shaabi, speaks during a news conference in Baghdad, July 2, 2015. Iraqi forces have cleared Islamic State militants from most of the northern town of Baiji and hope to drive them from the nearby oil refinery within days, a spokesman for the Shi'ite militias leading the fight said on Thursday. Al-Asadi said there were still "pockets of resistance" to the northeast and northwest of the town, and Islamic State fighters were trying to launch attacks

Pro-Iran PMU factions prepare for electoral battle in Iraq

Segments of the Popular Mobilization Units close to Iran are forming an alliance to participate in Iraq's upcoming elections.

Can Baghdad contain diseases in areas liberated from IS?

In the absence of supervised and well-coordinated health care, areas liberated from the Islamic State suffer from the spread of diseases.

Reviving Kurdish language in northern Syria

The self-administration in northern Syria is teaching the Kurdish language in a bid to revive it among the local population after decades of marginalization.

05.06.2014 - Beirut, Lebanon. A women is having her plastic surgery operation done at Innovi clinic Sodeco neighborhood. A surgery which is really common is the fat removal from legs, gluteus and abdomen to be used for facial treatment.

Iraq's bursting plastic surgery world dangerously unregulated

More Iraqis than ever are seeking out cosmetic surgery and other services, and many unlicensed facilities and providers are rushing to meet the demand.

Three months on from referendum, Kurds feel frustrated

Iraqi Kurdistan suffers from a devastated economy and increasing public anger in the aftermath of the independence referendum.

Iraqi Christians return after IS amid safety concerns

A year after their liberation from IS, Christian towns in Iraq are populated once again by their original inhabitants, but many remain wary about returning home.

Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi addresses the session 'A Vision for Iraq' in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos January 23, 2015. More than 1,500 business leaders and 40 heads of state or government attend the Jan. 21-24 meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) to network and discuss big themes, from the price of oil to the future of the Internet. This year they are meeting in the midst of upheaval, with security forces on heightened alert after attacks in Paris, the European Central Bank considering

Iraq once again controls own economy, free of UN sanctions

Iraqis await promising foreign investments and a political and economic opening to the world now that the UN has lifted decadeslong sanctions imposed after Iraq invaded Kuwait.

A view of Haj Omran border between Iran and Kurdistan, Iraq October 14, 2017. Picture taken October 14, 2017. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RC1DF1E5DF00

Iran willing to normalize ties with KRG, but not without change

Having helped bring the Iraqi Kurdish leadership to its knees, Tehran has increased its sway over the future of Iraqi Kurdistan.

Kurdistan quickly descending into chaos

For a third day, thousands of angry protesters turned out in Sulaimaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan and clashed with security forces as the KRG faces a governing crisis.

Head of Turkey's intelligence service, Hakan Fidan arrives for a press conference on October 10, 2016 in Istanbul.
Putin visits Turkey on October 10 for talks with counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, pushing forward ambitious joint energy projects as the two sides try to overcome a crisis in ties. / AFP / OZAN KOSE (Photo credit should read OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkish government mum about abducted intelligence personnel

Several senior Turkish intelligence officials have been in PKK hands for more than three months, but the government is refusing to share what it knows about them with the parliament.

A member of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) mans a weapon mounted on a pick-up truck as others talk to each others along a street in the west of the city of Ras al-Ain, after capturing it from Islamist rebels November 5, 2013. Redur Xelil, spokesman for the armed wing of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), said Kurdish militias had seized the city of Ras al-Ain and all its surrounding villages. Syrian Kurdish fighters have captured more territory from Islamist rebels in northeastern

Turkey’s problem with Syrian Kurds far from over

Ankara has accepted the Russian proposal to have Kurdish participation in Syrian national reconciliation while excluding the PYD, but the latter will remain the elephant in the room.

Iraq's PMU leaders 'resign' in preparation for elections

Several leaders in Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units have signaled that they are handing over control of their factions to the central government as they prepare to run in next year's elections, but some argue they will maintain their influence.