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Iraq

August 16, 2026

Baghdad 9:20 am

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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.

Iraq intel and security officials visit Saudi Arabia after drone attacks

Iraqi authorities are cracking down on drone attacks after US and Saudi airstrikes targeted Iran-backed militias in the country.

The commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Esmail Qaani, speaks during a commemoration ceremony marking the anniversary of the 2020 killing of Guards general Qasem Soleimani (on screen) in the capital Tehran on Jan. 3, 2024.

Analysis

What Qaani's Baghdad visit reveals about Iran's post-war dilemma

The Quds Force commander's Baghdad visit is occurring as Iran faced difficult choices in Iraq where the government is moving to bring powerful armed groups under state control after the recent war.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Qaani

IRGC chief Qaani reportedly in Iraq ahead of militia deadline

Esmail Qaani, who heads the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, has been heavily involved in Iran’s relations with Iraqi militias.

Latest News

Analysis

How Turkey is deepening energy and economic ties with Iraq as Iran weakens

a worker inspects an oil field in Iraq

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Iraqi Kurdish president’s meeting with Syria’s Sharaa signals shift in SDF dynamics

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa meets with Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani in Damascus, Aug. 3, 2026. IKRPresident/X

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

Iraqi-Kurdish peshmerga officers.

US reduces peshmerga funding amid Iraqi Kurdish political tensions

The reduction comes as the KRG has already been struggling financially due to budget disputes with Baghdad, fluctuating oil prices, and the cost of hosting more than a million refugees and IDPs.

A military marching band plays outside during the first provincial council elections in a decade, at a polling station in the central city of Najaf, on December 18, 2023. The vote comes at a time of widespread disillusionment among the country's 43 million inhabitants, with endemic corruption eating away at the oil-rich nation. (Photo by Qassem al-KAABI / AFP) (Photo by QASSEM AL-KAABI/AFP via Getty Images)

2023 in review: Iraq's pro-Iran factions make gains, but so do Sunni groups

December's provincial elections across Iraq saw big gains for the ruling Coordination Framework and for the Sunni minority and Muhammad al-Halbousi list.

Honor guards carry the coffin of Sayyed Razi Mousavi.

Funeral held for Iran's IRGC commander killed by Israel as Tehran vows revenge

Iran said Sayyed Razi Mousavi was killed in an Israeli strike in Syria. The death of the commander, who was mourned in Syria and Iraq, could ignite war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Smoke plumes billow from a fire at a lumber warehouse in southern Khartoum amidst ongoing fighting on June 7, 2023. Eight weeks of fighting have pitted Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo -- commonly known as Hemeti -- who commands the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). A number of broken ceasefires have offered brief lulls but no respite for residents of Khartoum, where witnesses again reported "the sound of heavy artillery fire" in the ca

2023 in review: From Sudan to Syria, here are Mideast's forgotten conflicts

More than 12,000 people were killed in the war in Sudan this year, while violence persisted in parts of Syria, Iraq and other countries across the Middle East and North Africa.

collage 2023

2023 in review: Al-Monitor's special coverage from across Middle East

Iraq drought

How are climate change, water scarcity weighing on Iraq’s agriculture?

The Norwegian Refugee Council said farmers are being hurt economically by climate change, and suggested better irrigation techniques and water monitoring technology to improve the sector.

Amberin and Fabrice webinar

The Israel-Hamas war: A view from Iraq and Syria

Join a live Q&A webinar with Amberin Zaman and Fabrice Balanche on Friday, Dec. 1 at 11 am ET (Pro members only).

US jets

Pentagon expands strikes on Iran-backed groups amid Iraq backlash

Iraq's government slammed US airstrikes that targeted Kata'ib Hezbollah command centers as 'an unacceptable violation of sovereignty' as Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani seeks to balance his support base with Baghdad's ties with Washington.

US gunship

US gunship strikes Iran-backed militias in Iraq after ballistic missile attack

US commanders ordered lethal strikes in quick response to a missile attack on the Ain al-Asad air base, in a sign the military is taking matters into its own hands to defend its personnel in Iraq.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein talks to the press during a EU-Iraq Cooperation Council, at the European Council Building in Brussels on March 19, 2023.

Iraqi FM says unless US stops Israel, conflict in Gaza will 'burn all of us'

Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein worries that the conflict in Gaza will drag on and expand beyond Israel’s borders.

Iraqi Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi addresses France's President Emmanuel Macron (unseen) during a meeting at the parliament in the capital Baghdad, on August 28, 2021. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP) (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Resignations at Iraq's parliament after supreme court ends Halbusi’s term

The powerful Sunni politician has been mired in controversy amid political tensions in Iraq.

Elizabeth Tsurkov

Proof of life video of Russian-Israeli scholar suggests Iraqi captors want to negotiate

The first video appearance of kidnapped Russian-Israeli scholar Elizabeth Tsurkov could mean her Shiite militia captors are seeking a deal for her release.