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Iraq

October 9, 2026

Baghdad 9:26 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

A Yazidi man carries his child at the Sharaf Al-Deen temple in Shingal's outskirts, Iraq, August 14, 2016. REUTERS/Ari Jalal - RTX2KT69

Iraqi minorities move forward with autonomy plan

Representatives of the Turkmen, Yazidi and Assyrian minority communities of Iraq have declared a coalition and put forward the most complete vision yet for self-rule in the country’s north.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.
Motorists travel on a highway in Tehran as the city is covered in dust July 6, 2009. The government closed private educational centres, state offices, industrial units and military bases for two days and raised its pollution alert status due to the dust, which an official from Tehran's environment office attributed the source to dust from dried marshland in Iraq blown towar

Why dust storms still suffocate Iran’s Khuzestan province

The administration of President Hassan Rouhani has declared that it has made great strides in combating dust storms and pollution in Iran’s southwestern province of Khuzestan, but the region appears to still be in the grip of recurring environmental crises.

Iraqis buy vegetables at a market in the Hamam al-Alil area, south of Mosul, on March 11, 2017, following it's liberation by Iraqi forces during an offensive to retake the western parts of Mosul from the jihadists. / AFP PHOTO / AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images)

Probe blames corruption for imports of bad food, medicine in Iraq

Iraqi politicians rebuke regulatory and health authorities as spoiled food and expired medications are discovered.

TOPSHOT - A woman walks amid a pile of clothes next to an outdoor charity wall marked as "the generous wall", an initiative encouraging people to donate clothes to those in need and open for people to collect items they need to keep warm, in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, on February 27, 2016. / AFP / SAFIN HAMED (Photo credit should read SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images)

Self-immolations on the rise among Iraqi Kurdish women

Despite the colorful image painted to the outside world of female peshmerga forces contributing to the fight in Iraqi Kurdistan, some women in the region are facing extensive oppression and violence.

General Khalifa Haftar, commander in the Libyan National Army (LNA), leaves after a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, November 29, 2016. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov - RTSTRVH

Putin gets some payback with 'alternative project' for Libya

Why Putin backs Hifter; Barzani’s Sinjar dilemma; Israel’s missing Gaza policy; GCC moves to the margins on Syria.

An electrician uses an Avometer to check wires connected to his local generator on a street in Baghdad, December 13, 2011. Iraq's financial system is slowly embracing the free market after years of tight control under Saddam; a fledging stock market is attracting foreign money while the banking and telecommunications industries are growing rapidly. But the national grid provides only a few hours of intermittent power a day, forcing Iraqis to live off noisy diesel-fueled generators. Picture taken December 13

Efforts to privatize electricity face resistance in Iraq

Five southern provinces objected to the Iraqi government's decision to privatize the electricity sector in the country.

Despite massive setbacks, IS still bares its fangs in Iraq

As it is losing ground in Mosul, the Islamic State is carrying out attacks against Iraqi security and civilian targets elsewhere to preserve its presence in Iraq.

Iraq's Oil Minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi arrives at a hotel ahead of a meeting of OPEC oil ministers in Vienna, Austria, November 28, 2016. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader - RTSTNUG

Baghdad-Erbil oil disputes on hold until Mosul liberation

Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi spoke to Al-Monitor about production and revenue-sharing disputes between Baghdad and Erbil, and addressed plans to attract foreign investors to the country’s energy sector.

Tribal fighters take part in a military training to prepare for fighting against Islamic State militants, at the Ain al-Assad military base in Anbar province November 15, 2014. Picture taken November 15, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: MILITARY CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR4ECYE

Iraq's 'Awakening' vets cautious about post-IS period

Iraq's Sunni tribal fighters fear they will be isolated from Iraqi society after the elimination of the Islamic State.

Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Kuwait's Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al Khalid al Sabah, Qatar's Foreign Minister Khaled al-Attiyah, Oman's Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, Bahrain's Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa and UAE'S Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan (L-R) pose for a group photo during an extraordinary meeting in Riyadh January 9, 2016. REUTERS/Faisal Al N

Gulf countries take back seat on Syria route

It seems Saudi Arabia is more interested in Yemen than in Syria these days, which explains dwindling Gulf support for Syrian rebels.

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

Why Iraq’s law on Popular Mobilization Units isn't all that popular

A law outlining the future of the Popular Mobilization Units in Iraq was passed months ago but has yet to be enacted as opposing forces continue their debates.

TOPSHOT - Children play football as oil wells, set ablaze by retreating Islamic State (IS) jihadists, burn behind them in the town of Qayyarah, some 70 km south of Mosul on November 20, 2016.
Locals told AFP that they face a range of health issues including breathing difficulties, and sheperds said they could not sell their livestock as the sheep's fleece was blackened by smoke. / AFP / Odd ANDERSEN (Photo credit should read ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images)

Burning oil wells no match for soccer-loving Iraqis

Soccer players from Team Asoosa, in Qayyarah, are rejoicing in reuniting and being able to again play the game they love after their town's liberation from the Islamic State.