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Iraq

March 4, 2026

Baghdad 1:27 am

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An Iranian Kurdish Peshmerga member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) inspects damage sustained at the Azadi Camp of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) following an Iranian cross-border attack in the town of Koye (Koysinjaq), in the east of Erbil district in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq on March 3, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with the killing of Iran's supreme leader and the Islamic republic retaliated with barr

Analysis

Kurds see opening yet remain wary as Trump seeks help to oust Iran regime

As the US and Israel escalate strikes on Iran, Trump has opened talks with Iraqi Kurdish leaders about their potential involvement in the conflict.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Women and children seen inside al-Hol camp, amongst them some 6,200 women and children from around 40 nationalities, and including relatives of suspected Islamic State jihadists in the desert region of Hasakah province on Jan. 25, 2026 in Al Hasakah, Syria.

Turkey to repatriate its ISIS fighters from Iraq as jihadis escalate Syria attacks

Ankara will repatriate its nationals from among thousands of fighters transferred from Syria, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq.

Here is what to know about Kuwait-Iraq maritime dispute

Arab Gulf countries expressed support for Kuwait’s sovereignty after Iraq sent a revised map of its maritime borders that reignited a decades-old dispute over sea boundaries between the two neighbors.

Barrack Sudani

US envoy Barrack oversees Chevron deal in Iraq amid Iran influence row

The Trump administration is maintaining pressure on Iraq over the nomination of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the influence of Iran-backed militias in the country.

Latest News

US court overturns Trump global tariffs: What it means for MENA

Heather Diehl/Getty Images

Analysis

Despite warnings from Israel's defense elite, Netanyahu pushes for Iran strike

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands amid debris outside the Soroka Hospital in the southern city of Beersheba, after it was hit by a missile fired from Iran on June 19, 2025. Israel's defence minister warned that Iran's supreme leader "can no longer be allowed to exist" after a hospital was hit in an Iranian missile strike on June 19, spiking tensions in the week-old war. (Photo by Marc Israel SELLEM / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

In letter, US lays out 7 demands for next Iraqi PM, with emphasis on Iran

Iraqis raise their flags during a protest at the entrance to the Hanging Bridge, one of the entrances to the Green Zone in Baghdad on Jan. 28, 2026.

Analysis

Can Maliki overcome Trump opposition to reclaim Iraq’s PM post?

Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki delivers a speech during a campaign rally for the State of Law Coalition ahead of the country's parliamentary elections in Baghdad on Nov. 7, 2025.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

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

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

People shout slogans during a demonstration against corruption, poor services and power cuts in Baghdad, Iraq, August 21, 2015. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad - RTX1P4DG

To veil or not to veil: Iraqi women face scrutiny over their choices

Iraq's religious parties are increasingly forcing women to wear the veil through intimidation and repressive policies, to the frustration of secular progressives.

Iraqi men walk past posters advertising a pornographic film at a cinema
in Baghdad, April 30, 2003. Pornography and prostitution was officially
banned under the regime of Saddam Hussein until his ousting from power
by U.S.-led forces two weeks ago.

REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra - RTRMOD7

XXX trumps IS as Iraqi lawmakers focus on eradicating Internet porn

A number of Iraqi parliamentarians recently signed a draft bill to block pornographic sites in the country, an effort some call a narrow approach to a complex issue.

Iraqi Shiite Muslim men from Hashid Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) march during a parade marking the annual al-Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Baghdad, July 10, 2015. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani - RTX1JV9P

Iraq's child soldiers

Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units are following in the footsteps of Iran’s Basij in their recruitment and use of child soldiers.

Iran to export gas to Iraq soon, says Iranian official

After the nuclear deal, Iran will need to deepen economic ties with Iraq, including the Kurdish Regional Government.

Violence in Turkey could push US to pick sides in Turkey, PKK battle

The escalation of violence in Turkey is reaching such a magnitude that Turkey may not be an effective coalition partner against Washington’s priority, the Islamic State.

An Iraqi Christian fighter, a member of Babylon Christian Battalion, stands guard near the site of car bomb attack in Baghdad, May 5, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer
- RTX1BOU9

Iraqi Christians take up arms to regain lost land

Iraq’s Christians are taking up arms to reclaim land now controlled by the Islamic State, but some worry their efforts could worsen the sectarian divide and further complicate the struggle against the terror group.

A man from the minority Yazidi sect stands guard at Mount Sinjar, in the town of Sinjar, December 20, 2014. Iraqi Kurdish fighters flashed victory signs as they swept across the northern side of Sinjar mountain on Saturday, two days after breaking through to free hundreds of Yazidis trapped there for months by Islamic State fighters. REUTERS/Ari Jalal (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTR4IV2I

Yazidi infighting, disputes over Sinjar stall battle against Islamic State

Kurdish political parties have formed various armed forces that are fighting for control of Sinjar, which is still not out of danger from the Islamic State.

People shout slogans during a demonstration against corruption and poor services in regard to power cuts and water shortages, in Kerbala, southwest of Baghdad, August 14, 2015. Iraq's top Shi'ite Muslim cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani called on parliament and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Friday to focus their anti-corruption campaign first on improving the judiciary. REUTERS/Mushtaq Muhammed - RTX1OBB8

Will Abadi's reforms work?

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi approved major reform measures for the country, but challenges, especially when it comes to implementation on the ground and within state institutions, still stand in the way.

Members of al Qaeda's Nusra Front ride on a pick-up truck mounted with an anti-aircraft weapon in the town of the northwestern city of Ariha, after a coalition of insurgent groups seized the area in Idlib province, May 29, 2015. The Syrian army has pulled back from the northwestern city of Ariha after a coalition of insurgent groups seized the last city in Idlib province in northwestern Syria near the Turkish border that was still held by the government. A coalition of rebel groups called Jaish al Fateh, or

Al-Qaeda's emir strikes back

After 11 months of silence, Ayman al-Zawahri issues audio messages calling for terrorist attacks against the United States and its allies.

Iraqi children traumatized by IS violence

The Islamic State has left Iraqi families, and especially children, traumatized amid persistent but insufficient efforts by international organizations.

PKK vs. Turkey: Violence plagues people of Basak

Turkish security forces expand their operations to urban areas in the southeast of the country.

Who is targeting Iranians in Turkey?

A series of attacks on Iranian interests in Turkey raises the question of why the PKK may seek to hit Iran at this point.