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Iraq

March 7, 2026

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Analysis

CIA, Mossad bolster Iran’s Kurds as US, Israel seek to ignite military revolt

Israel hopes Iran’s Kurds, and other minorities, will mobilize to help bring down the Iranian regime.

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

A picture from the formation of the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan on Feb. 22, 2026.

Which 6 Kurdish groups could join the war in Iran?

Iranian Kurdish groups that recently formed an alliance could soon join the United States and Israel in their campaign against the Islamic Republic, Al-Monitor has learned.

A member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) participates in a military drill in an outpost near Erbil, Kurdistan region of Iraq on Jan. 15, 2026.

Exclusive

US-backed Kurdish forces poised to enter Iran from Iraqi Kurdistan 'within days'

The CIA has reportedly been in contact with Iranian Kurdish armed groups since last year, as Israel has pressed for Kurdish engagement.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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

Latest News

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

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.

Here is what to know about Kuwait-Iraq maritime dispute

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

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

Barrack Sudani

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

Heather Diehl/Getty Images

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

Turkish trucks and tankers, shuttling between Turkey and Iraq, queue on a road leading to the Habur border gate in southeastern Turkey, before crossing into Iraq with their goods, February 23, 2008. Turkey's exports to Iraq jumped nine percent last year to $2.8 billion and its influence can be felt across northern Iraq in the form of supermarkets, consumer goods, construction firms and traders from all over Turkey. To match feature TURKEY-IRAQ/CONFLICT REUTERS/Fatih Saribas (TURKEY) - RTR1XKEF

Turkish truckers try to get on the road again

With the dangers and difficulties now inherent in transiting in Iraq and Syria, the Turkish transportation sector is looking for alternative routes to Middle Eastern markets.

A man purported to be the reclusive leader of the militant Islamic State Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has made what would be his first public appearance at a mosque in the centre of Iraq's second city, Mosul, according to a video recording posted on the Internet on July 5, 2014, in this still image taken from video. There had previously been reports on social media that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi would make his first public appearance since his Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) changed its name to the Islamic S

Did nostalgia for Islamic caliphate become a reality?

The Islamic State has exploited ideological tendencies of Salafist jihadists to establish its "Islamic caliphate."

Shiite volunteers from Hezbollah Iraq, who have joined the Iraqi army to fight against militants of the Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), gather together in Baghdad, July 6, 2014. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's coalition should withdraw its support for his bid for a third term and pick another candidate, Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr urged, amid parliamentary deadlock over the formation of a new government. Maliki has come under mounting pressur

Lebanese Hezbollah unlikely to intervene in Iraq crisis

Although some have expressed concerns that Hezbollah could intervene in Iraq to protect Shiite holy sites from Islamic State militants, a number of Lebanese politicians and sources close to Hezbollah dismiss this possibility.

Residents watch Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on a screen during his televised speech at a festival celebrating Resistance and Liberation Day, in Bint Jbeil May 25, 2014. The event commemorates the 14th anniversary of Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY) - RTR3QT8E

Iraq events cause Hezbollah to go on full alert

The fall of western Iraq to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) has cut the contiguous bridge from Iran to Lebanon, and Hezbollah fears that ISIS may try to sneak through to Lebanon.

Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq (L) attends a session at the parliament headquarters in Baghdad July 1, 2014. Newly elected Iraqi lawmakers convene on Tuesday, under pressure to name a unity government to keep the country from splitting apart after an onslaught by Sunni Islamists who have declared a "caliphate" to rule over all the world's Muslims. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3WMDF

Iraqi deputy prime minister: 'I was mistaken' in joining government

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq speaks about the roots of the crisis in Iraq and stresses the need for a political solution.

Members of the Awakening Council, a local neighbourhood guard unit, check the identification of a motorist at a security checkpoint in Diyala province February 10, 2013. Picture taken February 10, 2013. REUTERS/Mohammed Adnan (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3DMLI

The false 'Awakening' model to deal with ISIS in Iraq

Given past experiences, the Iraqi government will likely face difficulties persuading armed Sunni groups to separate from the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).

The words: ' Baath, Arabism, Unity, Freedom, Socialism' are seen on top of a damaged building that belongs to forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo, June 19, 2013. Picture taken June 19, 2013. REUTERS/Nour Kelze (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTX10UMG

Russia banks on Syrian unity

As Moscow grapples with the changes in the region, it continues to support an inclusive peace process in Syria.

Children of a Christian family, who fled from the violence in Mosul two days ago, stay at a school in Arbil, in Iraq's Kurdistan region June 27, 2014. Iraqi forces launched an airborne assault on rebel-held Tikrit on Thursday with commandos flown into a stadium in helicopters, at least one of which crashed after taking fire from insurgents who have seized northern cities. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS CONFLICT SOCIETY) - RTR3W0VR

Christians displaced again by Iraqi violence

Thousands of Christians have fled from Mosul to Iraqi Kurdistan after ISIS took control of the city.

Eggs packed in cartons are pictured at a chicken farm in the western town of Schleiden January 6, 2011. The German government moved to calm public fears on Wednesday after highly toxic dioxin contamination in the feed of poultry and hogs turned out to be far more widespread than first thought. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender (GERMANY - Tags: POLITICS HEALTH FOOD) - RTXW9LJ

Turkey assesses losses from Iraqi market

Turkish officials, politicians and traders are trying to calculate Turkey's losses in the Iraqi market after the ISIS takeover of Mosul and other Iraqi cities.

The Paris office of Iran Air is draped with a black shroud, July 7, 1988, following the downing of an Iran Air A-300 Airbus with 290 passengers aboard in the Gulf on Sunday. The USS Vincennes mistakenly fired a missile at the civilian airliner. REUTERS/Phillipe Wojazer - RTR1Q8SV

Iran remembers US downing of passenger plane

On the anniversary of the downing of Iran’s Flight 655 by the United States, Iran still mourns the act of violence that played a major role in US-Iran hostility.

Sparrows sit on crosses at St. Matthew's monastery on Mount Maqloub, northeast of Mosul in Northern Iraq, some 400 km northwest of Baghdad January 7, 2004. [The Assyrian Orthodox Christmas is celebrated today with reference to the Julian calendar, which has a difference of two weeks to the Gregorian calendar.] - RTXMDTW

Iraq's Assyrian Christians fear ISIS threat to heritage

Assyrian Christian community leaders tell Al-Monitor that the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) has not yet destroyed ancient Assyrian and Christian artifacts in Mosul.

Mehdi Army fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr stand during a military-style training in Najaf June 20, 2014. Iraqi forces were massing north of Baghdad on Friday, aiming to strike back at Sunni Islamists whose drive toward the capital prompted the United States to send military advisers to stiffen government resistance. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR3UW3C

Did Shiite fatwa save Baghdad from 'Islamic State'?

Iraqi Shiites have rallied to defend the capital from the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), with few visible signs of Iranian fighters.