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Iraq

August 25, 2026

Baghdad 8:08 am

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Oil falls 1.8% as traders await 'toughest' sanctions on Iran

Traders are awaiting details about new US measures sure to further disrupt Iranian oil flows.

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

Latest News

Exclusive

Saudi Arabia wants Iran-backed militia 'heads to roll' in Iraq amid talks with Tehran

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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.

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 people from the minority Yazidi sect who fled the violence in the Iraqi town of Sinjar, wait for aid at an abandoned building that they are using as their main residence, outside the city of Dohuk August 25, 2014. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR43PC3

Iraqi clerics show support for minorities

Iraqi clerics are showing wide support for historically persecuted minorities and working to dismantle the foundations of extremist ideology.

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks as he hosts a bilateral meeting with Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan during the NATO Summit at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales September 5, 2014. REUTERS/Larry Downing (UNITED KINGDOM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR453HP

Turkey faces dilemma in fight against Islamic State

Turkey is not keen to have the Kurds, Shiites and the Damascus regime be bolstered in the fight against the Islamic State.

Peshmerga fighters inspect the remains of a car, bearing an image of the trademark jihadist flag, which belonged to Islamic State (IS) militants after it was targeted by an American air strike in the village of Baqufa, north of Mosul, on August 18,2014. Kurdish peshmerga fighters backed by federal forces and US warplanes pressed a counter-offensive Monday against jihadists after retaking Iraq's largest dam, as the United States and Britain stepped up their military involvement. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE

Islamic State becoming ‘dominant voice’ among global jihadists

The United States intensifies military planning against the Islamic State; Syria’s new Cabinet; Israel faces "highly complex reality" in Syria; IS-linked group threatens more terror, beheadings in the Sinai Peninsula; what Egypt lost in the Al Jazeera trial.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki reviews the honour guard upon his arrival in Moscow April 9, 2009. Maliki is to meet Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev during his visit to Russia. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin (RUSSIA POLITICS) - RTXDTLO

Iranian-Saudi agreement on Iraq may be near

While key issues remain, Iran and Saudi Arabia are reportedly close to agreeing on the formation of an Iraqi government, clearing the way to focus on another regional crisis.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan inspects the honour guard during a visit to Northern Cyprus September 1, 2014. Erdogan paid his first visit abroad as head of state to Northern Cyprus on Monday and said the window of opportunity will not remain open forever for a "two state solution" in the country. REUTERS/Andreas Manolis (CYPRUS - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR44JWG

Is the Islamic State holding Turkey hostage?

Prolonged hostage negotiations with the Islamic State are creating serious headaches for the Turkish leadership.

Iraqi Shiite militia fighters fire their weapons as they celebrate breaking a long siege of Amerli by Islamic State militants September 1, 2014. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR44KD4

Iraqi Shiite forces reinvigorated after Amerli victory

After successfully breaking the Islamic State’s siege on the Shiite Turkmen town of Amerli, Iraqi forces are looking to make further advances.

Iraq's Prime Minister-designate Haider al-Abadi (R) meets with Pastor Farouk Yousuf in Baghdad August 21, 2014. REUTERS/Karim Kadim/Pool (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS RELIGION) - RTR438QY

Abadi's balance draws praise, but governing Iraq a tightrope act

Prime Minister-designate Haider al-Abadi has shown balance and pragmatism in forming a government, but the danger of being drawn into sectarian rhetoric remains.

Iraq's Prime Minister-designate Haider al-Abadi speaks during a press conference in Baghdad August 25, 2014. Abadi on Monday predicted a "clear vision" on a new government would emerge within the next two days, state television reported, as the country faces deepening sectarian conflict. REUTERS/Mahmoud Raouf Mahmoud (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR43O7D

Iraqis call to end sectarian quotas for some ministries

Iraqi intellectuals and trade unionists have called for the appointment of qualified people to head government ministries rather than relying on sectarian quotas.

Peshmerga fighters inspect the remains of a car, bearing an image of the trademark jihadist flag, which belonged to Islamic State (IS) militants after it was targeted by an American air strike in the village of Baqufa, north of Mosul, on August 18,2014. Kurdish peshmerga fighters backed by federal forces and US warplanes pressed a counter-offensive Monday against jihadists after retaking Iraq's largest dam, as the United States and Britain stepped up their military involvement. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE

Europe blind to Islamic State's true threat

With the Islamic State drawing recruits from across Europe, the continent must act against the movement in Syria and Iraq before it's too late.

Iraqi students attend their graduation ceremony at Technical University of Baghdad on June 30, 2012 to celebrate receiving their degrees for the first time since the US-led war on Iraq in 2003. The ceremonies were officially stopped by authorities due to the security issues after several attacks and explosions took place at the university since the ousting of former president, Saddam Hussein in 2003. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/GettyImages)

Iraqi intellectuals start campaigns to end bloodshed

Iraqi educational and cultural leaders are drawing wide support from Iraqis of all sects.

A member of the Kurdish Peshmerga force fires a dushka at Sulaiman Pek front line in the northwest of Tikrit city August 31, 2014. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR44FEB

Despite limitations, Iranian Kurds support Iraqi Kurds

Iranian Kurds have been moved by images of Iraqi Kurds fleeing the Islamic State and have attempted to contribute and help.

Riot police stand guard as demonstrators protest the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri August 13, 2014. Police in Ferguson fired several rounds of tear gas to disperse protesters late on Wednesday, on the fourth night of demonstrations over the fatal shooting last weekend of an unarmed black teenager Brown, 18, by a police officer on Saturday after what police said was a struggle with a gun in a police car. A witness in the case told local media that Brown had raised his arms to

Ferguson could lead to more US weapons for Middle East

Congress wants to clamp down on leftover military equipment going to local police departments, but what will happen to all that surplus gear?