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Iraq

March 7, 2026

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Kurdish Peshmerga fighters affiliated with PAK train on Jan. 18, 2026, near Erbil, Iraq.

Why Israel's looking to Kurds to make gains against Iran regime

Israeli-Kurdish relations are rooted in a common struggle against Islamic extremism and the Kurds’ strategic presence across Turkey, Syria and Iran.

Osama Al Maqdoni / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

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

Latest News

Analysis

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

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

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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

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

Ammar al-Hakim, leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), gives a speech during prayers for the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha in Baghdad, October 16, 2013. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha, marking the end of the haj, by slaughtering sheep, goats, cows and camels to commemorate Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail on God's command. REUTERS/Saad Shalash (IRAQ - Tags: RELIGION SOCIETY POLITICS) - RTX14DIE

Hakim-led Citizen Coalition could shake up Iraqi elections

New coalitions of moderate religious and secular origins could bode well for Iraqi politics and shake up the April 30 elections.

A woman with ink-stained fingers, holds a walking stick at a polling station in Baghdad's Sadr City March 7, 2010. Polling stations opened in Iraq on Sunday for a parliamentary election seen as crucial to the future of a country seeking stability after years of bloodshed. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE - RTR2CEG2

Women prominent in coming Iraqi elections

Unlike in past elections, many female candidates are running in the Iraqi parliamentary elections scheduled for the end of this month.

A member of Iraqi security forces looks on during the digging operations to build a trench on the northern Iraqi border with Syria to prevent people from crossing over into Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, on April 13, 2014 in Zakho. AFP PHOTO/SAFIN HAMED (Photo credit should read SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images)

KRG trench divides Syrian, Iraqi Kurds

The ditch dug by the Kurdistan Regional Government at Rojava, separating Syrian and Iraqi Kurds, adds another layer of complexity to the regional conflict.

Iraqi Sunni Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq (L) and Iraqiya Sunni speaker of parliament Osama al-Nujaifi hold a news conference for the seniors of Iraqiya bloc in Baghdad January 18, 2012. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2WGNT

Electoral race heats up among Iraq's Sunni factions

While the Iraqi parliamentary elections scheduled for the end of this month approach, competition is fierce among Sunni blocs.

A man looks at an election campaign poster of Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Hussain al-Shahristani in Baghdad April 3, 2014. Iraq's parliamentary election is scheduled for April 30. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3JUTM

Iraqi elections: all talk, no walk

Many political blocs have dismissed the Iraqi voter as unable to analyze complex and detailed political programs.

Baghdad, IRAQ: Iraqi tribal men march behind a poster of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani during a demosntration in the holy city of Najaf, south of Baghdad, 26 February 2006. Sistani called for Iraq's powerful tribes to be deployed to protect the country's holy places after three attacks on Shiite shrines in four days, his office said. "Ayatollah Sistani, who received a tribal delegation from Kufa, asked that the Iraqi tribes reclaim their role of protecting the shrines," said an official in Sistani's offic

Sistani calls on Iraqi voters to 'choose wisely'

Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has called on the Iraqi people to "choose wisely" in the coming elections, holding Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki responsible for problems in Iraq and opposing a third term for him.

Photographer Mohamed Turjuman shows what he says are pictures that he took of Imam Musa al-Sadr, at his studio in Tyre, southern Lebanon, February 23, 2011. Sadr, the founder of the Shi'ite Amal movement, disappeared with his two companions on a visit to Libya in 1978. The uprising against Muammar Gaddafi has given Sadr's family hope that they may finally find out what happened to him if the Libyan leader is toppled, Rabab al-Sadr told Reuters on February 24, 2011. Picture taken February 23, 2011. REUTERS/

Lebanon's Shiite seminaries split between tradition, modernity

Although most Shiite seminaries in Lebanon still follow a traditional curriculum, a number of schools have begun to revise and develop their educational approaches.

Iraqi secular Sunni politician Mithal al-Alusi speaks during an election campaign rally ahead of March 7 parliamentary elections in Baghdad February 27, 2010. REUTERS/Saad Shalash (IRAQ - Tags: ELECTIONS POLITICS) - RTR2AZUB

Iraqi secularists under attack ahead of elections

A religious leader with ties to the Islamic Dawa Party has issued a fatwa banning citizens from voting for secular candidates, as religious currents increasingly claim secular movements are tainted by links to the old regime of Saddam Hussein.

Police officers search a vehicle at a checkpoint, as security increases after a bomb attack, at Abu Ghraib district, west of Baghdad, January 9, 2014. A suicide bomber killed 13 Iraqi army recruits and wounded more than 30 in Baghdad on Thursday, police said, in an attack on men responding to a government appeal for volunteers to help fight al Qaeda-linked militants in Anbar province. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY) - RTX177MB

Maliki's use of SWAT forces questioned

In mid-March, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki criticized police manning checkpoints for delaying traffic, leading to the arrest of some officers by members of the SWAT forces.

A man walks past an election campaign poster of Mohammed Abed Al-Kazem Aqeeli (C) of Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's State of Law coalition in Baghdad April 3, 2014. Iraq's parliamentary election is scheduled for later this month. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3JUU1

Iraqi government submits controversial emergency powers bill

The bill would give near-absolute powers to Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and is filled with loopholes and vague language.

Ammar al-Hakim (C), leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, speaks to his supporters during a ceremony held to announce his election platform, in Baghdad April 5, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION ELECTIONS) - RTR3K2VC

Hakim launches 'Citizen Coalition' in Iraqi elections

In the lead-up to the April 30 Iraqi elections, Ammar al-Hakim’s Citizen Coalition has sought to ensure comprehensive reform and released a serious and thorough electoral program.

NAJAF, IRAQ: An Iraqi Shiite scholar (2nd L) lectures a student while another one (R) reviews his lesson at a religious school for clerics, known in Arabic as Haouza, in the holy city of Najaf, 160 kms (100 miles) south of Baghdad, 05 August 2006. The teaching method at the clerical school in Najaf has not radically changed since its establishment in 1056 AD, with the exception of adding natural sciences subjects to the curriculum. AFP PHOTO/ALI AL-SAADI (Photo credit should read ALI AL-SAADI/AFP/Getty I

Najaf's Shiite seminaries enter 21st century

Throughout its history, the Shiite seminaries in Najaf, Iraq, have witnessed massive changes in curricula, with an expansion in the number and scope of subjects offered.