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Iraq

August 22, 2026

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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

Displaced Iraqi children who fled their homes with their families play outside Hammam al-Alil camp south of Mosul, Iraq April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTS12SI9

How can Iraq address child abuse, torture?

While the phenomenon of child abuse has recently come under the spotlight in Iraq, the government is not taking action to stop this violence against children.

FILE PHOTO: A man purported to be the reclusive leader of the militant Islamic State Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi making what would have been his first public appearance, at a mosque in the centre of Iraq's second city, Mosul, according to a video recording posted on the Internet on July 5, 2014, in this still image taken from video. REUTERS/Social Media Website via Reuters TV/File Photo ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SE

Will al-Qaeda and IS unite?

Several reports indicate that an alliance between al-Qaeda and the Islamic State may take place in Iraq after the liberation of Mosul.

Fighters from the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) inspect the damage at their headquarters after it was hit by Turkish airstrikes in Mount Karachok near Malikiya, Syria April 25, 2017. REUTERS/ Rodi Said - RTS13V4D

Does Turkey plan to continue airstrikes in Iraq, Syria?

Turkey’s recent bombings of groups it says are linked to Kurdish terrorists give Russia and the United States something else to agree on.

Iraqi security forces march as they conduct a raid and weapons search operation in Hawija April 24, 2014. The operation led to the arrest of wanted figures and the seizing of various weapons and ammunition, according to an Iraqi security forces officer. REUTERS/ Yahya Ahmad (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR3MHDN

Liberation of Iraq's Hawija delayed yet again

Due to the disagreement between Iraqi forces linked to Baghdad and the Kurdish forces, the liberation of Hawija has been delayed several times.

Iraqi government forces and local tribal fighters drive on the highway between the city of Ramadi and the town of Rutba as they take part in an operation to retake Rutba from the Islamic State jihadist group on May 16, 2016.
Special forces, soldiers, police, border guards and pro-government paramilitaries are involved in the operation to retake the Anbar province town, which has been held by the jihadist group since 2014, Iraq's Joint Operations Command said. / AFP / MOADH AL-DULAIMI (Photo credit sh

How Iraq is planning to secure key border road

US security companies have been assigned to secure highways linking southern Iraq to the West, but it may face many difficulties, including being targeted by armed militias.

Kurdish fighters fire shells towards what they said were Islamic State strongholds in Tel Abyad of Raqqa governorate after they said they took control of the area June 15, 2015. Syrian Kurdish-led forces said they had captured a town at the Turkish border from Islamic State on Monday, driving it away from the frontier in an advance backed by U.S.-led air strikes that has thrust deep into the jihadists' Syria stronghold. The capture of Tel Abyad by the Kurdish YPG and smaller Syrian rebel groups means the Sy

Trump's generals wonder: What comes after Raqqa?

A senior US official says Turkish bombing of Syrian Kurdish forces is adding a new level of complexity to US efforts to defeat the Islamic State and retake Raqqa.

Shi'ite fighters chant slogans in al-Fatha, northeast of Baiji, October 18, 2015. Iraqi forces backed by Shi'ite militia fighters say they have retaken a mountain palace complex of former President Saddam Hussein from Islamic State fighters, as government forces push ahead on a major offensive against the insurgents. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RTS4Z0Y

How Iraqis view Iran’s influence in their country

Iranian statements on the role of Iraqi armed groups in protecting Iranian national interests are a violation of Iraq’s national sovereignty, Iraqi officials say.

A Turkish soldier on an armoured military vehicle surveys the border line between Turkey and Syria, near the southeastern city of Kilis, Turkey, March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTS115OV

Is Turkey trying to disrupt Raqqa operation?

In the lead-up to President Erdogan's Washington visit next month, Turkey's recent air attacks in Syria and Iraq might be a message that Turkey intends to play a more involved role in those countries.

Shi'ite volunteers in support of the Iraqi Army visit the Imam al-Askari shrine in Samarra July 12, 2014. Picture taken July 12, 2014. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani (IRAQPOLITICS UNREST - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS RELIGION MILITARY) - RTR3YDCJ

Sunnis fear spread of Shiite influence in Samarra

Residents and political representatives in the predominantly Sunni city of Samarra take issue with what they see as increased Shiite influence in the city.

Iraqi fighters from Hashid Shaabi take part in a training at Makhmur camp in Iraq December 11, 2016. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RTX2UHUL

Will Iraqi government-PMU disputes spiral into armed clashes?

With the Islamic State nearly defeated in Iraqi cities, disputes between PMU-affiliated Shiite factions and the Iraqi government have surfaced, threatening future military clashes between them.

A member of the Islamist Syrian opposition group Ahrar al-Sham fires against a position of the Committees for the Protection of the Kurdish People (YPG), a militia set up to protect Kurdish areas in Syria from opposing forces, during clashes in the countryside of the northern Syrian Raqqa province on August 25, 2013. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said on August 27 the UN mission investigating alleged chemical weapons attacks in Damascus has been delayed until the following after rebels failed to gu

Complex deal frees kidnapped Qatari royals, two Saudis

Various versions of a recent hostage deal are circulating that include, potentially, political motivations, millions of dollars in ransom, exchanged military prisoners and relocated civilians.

Militant Islamist fighters take part in a military parade along the streets of northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. Militant Islamist fighters held a parade in Syria's northern Raqqa province to celebrate their declaration of an Islamic "caliphate" after the group captured territory in neighbouring Iraq, a monitoring service said. The Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot previously known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), posted pictures online on Sunday of people waving black flags from cars

How the IDF is plotting Islamic State's next move

Israeli intelligence expects the Islamic State to relocate after it loses the battles over Mosul and Raqqa.