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Iraq

December 22, 2025

Baghdad 5:09 am

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Iraqi President Barham Salih meets with UK Prime Minister, Theresa May (unseen), on June 25, 2019, in London, England.

Barham Salih slated to become first Kurd and Iraqi to lead UNHCR

Barham Salih — former Iraqi president of Iraq and widely respected politician in Washington — has been formally nominated to become the next UN high commissioner for refugees.

KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani (R) and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (L) meet in Irbil on April 12, 2025.

Exclusive

Iraq's Kurds air fury over PM Sudani's stance after attack on gas field

“We were shocked at Sudani’s audacity. Imagine the state we would have been in had he gotten his way,” a senior Iraqi Kurdish official speaking not for attribution told Al-Monitor.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City on Sept. 23, 2022.

Former PM Kadhimi: Vote shows Iraqis turning toward new leadership

Mustafa al-Kadhimi told Al-Monitor that the strong performances of parties that ran on their own, as opposed to those on lists, indicate a desire to shake up the status quo.

People drive past election billboards in Baghdad, Oct. 14, 2025.

Analysis

Iraq’s economic future in limbo as paralysis looms post-election

Negotiations over coalition-building could take months, leaving Baghdad in a holding pattern at a moment when reforms and fiscal adjustments are greatly needed.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Latest News

Analysis

Iraq’s next PM? Shatri, Eidani, Kadhimi and others jostle for lead

People walk past electoral campaign posters ahead of Iraq's parliamentary elections in central Baghdad on Nov. 6, 2025.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Analysis

How Iraq’s next government could shape the US-Iran rivalry

Supporters of incumbent Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani wave national flags in front of a screen displaying his portrait as they celebrate following the announcement of preliminary election results in Baghdad on Nov. 12, 2025.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Iraq’s Shiite alliance meets to chart strategy after Sudani comes first in election

A delivery person rides a motorcycle past election billboards for candidates and blocs competing in Iraq's upcoming November parliamentary election, including incumbent Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, displayed along a street in Baghdad on Oct. 3, 2025.

Analysis

Turkey to navigate enduring Iranian influence in Iraq following elections

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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

Andrew Parasiliti

President and Chief Content Officer

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, national security

Suadad al-Salhy

In Baghdad, reporting on politics and security

Lyse Mauvais

In Amman, reporting on humanitarian crises

Middle East corruption rankings: Syria most corrupt, UAE least, Turkey slipped

Corruption remains rampant across the Middle East and North Africa, Transparency International reports, with the region’s average score in combating corruption hitting a new low of 38.

BAKR ALKASEM/AFP via Getty Images

Strikes near Iraqi border mark widening regional battle against Iran

Strikes widely attributed to Israel have hit an Iranian convoy near the Iraqi border after it crossed out of the country.

Baghdad dinar protest

Protests in Iraq amid local currency devaluation, Central Bank changes

Restrictions from the US Federal Reserve, corruption, and Iraq’s lack of an electronic banking system have all led to the dinar’s recent fall in value against the dollar.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and the German chancellor (not in picture) give a joint press conference at the Chancellery, Berlin, Germany, Jan. 13, 2023.

Explainer: What is behind Iraq's Central Bank shuffle and what is next?

The economic crisis in Iraq as a result of the ongoing rise in the value of the US dollar against the dinar resulted in the prime minister sacking the heads of the Central Bank of Iraq and the Trade Bank of Iraq.

HUSSEIN FALEH/AFP via Getty Images

Iraq's soccer team celebrates with militia leaders after Gulf Cup victory

The team held up a photo of militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was killed by a US drone strike in 2020.

A man and a woman hold up a banner depicting the image of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died while in the custody of Iranian authorities, during a demonstration denouncing her death by Iraqi and Iranian Kurds outside the UN offices in Arbil, the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, on September 24, 2022. (Photo by SAFIN HAMED/AFP via Getty Images)

Fleeing repression, Iran's Kurdish activists struggle to find refuge in Iraq

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq has become a key escape route for an unknown number of Iranian Kurds fleeing brutal repression and torture in Iran, but most fail to find security and stability in Iraq.

Iraq dinar

Iraq's government struggles to control US dollar price

The Iraqi economy is suffering from the US dollar's rise as a result of smuggling dollars outside of Iraq.

ESSAM AL-SUDANI/AFP via Getty Images

In restive Iran-Iraq border area, support for firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr holds strong

Al-Monitor traveled to Iraq’s impoverished southeast, known for drug smuggling and militia violence, to explore the continued support there for the Sadr movement.

A picture shows the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp, which holds relatives of suspected Islamic State (IS) group fighters in the northeastern Hasakeh governorate, during a security operation by the Kurdish Asayish security forces and the special forces of the Syrian Democratic Forces, on Aug. 26, 2022.

Iraq repatriates 580 citizens from Syria’s al-Hol camp

The Islamic State sees the tens of thousands of detainees at al-Hol and other prison facilities in Syria as key to rebuilding its army, US officials have said.

Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, Brett McGurk, speaks during a press conference in Amman on November 6, 2016. (Photo credit should read AHMAD ABDO/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraq's PM Sudani hosted US envoy ahead of meeting Iran's Quds commander

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani received high-ranking US and Iranian envoys separately for discussions of bilateral issues related to both countries.

Iraq Sadr

Iraq's Sadr indicates return to politics in public prayer session

Muqtada al-Sadr organized a public prayer on Friday, making a comeback to politics after months of silence.

Sudani germany

Iraqi PM in Germany to sign agreement with Siemens

Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani traveled to Germany Thursday to further economic ties between the two countries and sign an agreement with Siemens to repair Iraq's dilapidated electrical infrastructure.