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Iraq

October 15, 2026

Baghdad 12:28 am

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Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Oct. 14, 2026, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Iraq’s Zaidi, Saudi crown prince discuss security as Houthi attacks escalate

Iraq has moved to improve ties with Saudi Arabia after Iran-backed militias struck the kingdom and amid the conflict with the Houthis in Yemen.

Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters arrive in the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk on May 14, 2013, after leaving Turkey as part of a peace drive with Ankara.

Explainer

PKK pulls out of Metina in northern Iraq amid Turkey peace process

The withdrawal comes as the peace process between Turkey and the militant group gains momentum alongside increasing security cooperation between Ankara and Baghdad.

Demonstrators ride through a street while waving Syrian flags

Analysis

Why Syria and Iraq are taking different approaches to armed groups

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

A man walks past a closed foreign exchange office in Baghdad on October 7, 2026. Iraq's central bank devalued the dinar currency against the dollar on October 7, with the country facing a deepening crisis brought on by the Middle East war. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images)

Iraq devalues dinar 13% as Hormuz disruption hits oil revenue

The central bank said in a statement that it had revised the official exchange rate to 1,520 Iraqi dinars per dollar from around 1,320.

Latest News

Explainer

What Iraq’s US troop withdrawal means for security after Kirkuk killings

A member of the Iraqi security forces flashes the victory sign during a military parade

Analysis

After US exit, Iran gains space in Iraq and a harder balancing act

Members of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) paramilitary forces stand guard during an election rally for the "Asaib Ahl al-Haq" movement in the capital Baghdad, on October 7, 2021.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Trump’s integration policies build on Gulf, Turkey ties and Syria success

US President Donald Trump meets Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) on the sidelines of the NATO Summit at Bestepe Presidential Compound in Ankara, on July 8, 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

Burnt vehicles are seen during clashes between Iraqi security forces and al Qaeda-linked Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the northern Iraq city of Mosul, June 10, 2014. Radical Sunni Muslim insurgents seized control of most of Iraq's second largest city of Mosul early on Tuesday, overrunning a military base and freeing hundreds of prisoners in a spectacular strike against the Shi'ite-led Iraqi government. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR3T3UD

Iran officials call for international response to ISIS violence

Iranian officials respond to the fall of Mosul to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham extremists.

Syrian Kurds continue to blame Turkey for backing ISIS militants

In a report from northeast Syria, Syrian Kurds, locked in a bloody battle with the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), also fear a potential clash with Syrian government forces.

A man, who was injured during a suicide bomber attack in Mwafaqiya village at Mosul, lies in a hospital bed after he was brought for treatment in a hospital in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region, June 6, 2014. Militants fought Iraqi security forces in the northern city of Mosul on Friday, a day after parts of another city were briefly overrun by insurgents. A curfew was imposed on Mosul on Thursday, when Sunni Islamist insurgents moved into parts of the city of Samarra, bringing them wit

ISIS 'hit and run' tactics reveal Iraqi security weaknesses

The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) is briefly occupying Sunni neighborhoods then immediately withdrawing, to weaken confidence in Iraqi forces and display its power.

Iraqi Shi'ite youths use computers at an internet cafe in Sadr City in Baghdad May 3, 2014. Iraq is now gripped by its worst violence since the heights of its 2005-2008 sectarian war, and Sunni Islamist insurgents who target Shi'ites have been regaining ground in the country over the past year. But despite the instability, daily life continues in poor Shi'ite neighbourhoods of Baghdad such as Al-Fdhiliya and Sadr City - a sprawling slum marred by poor infrastructure and overcrowding. Picture taken May 3, 20

Iraqi entrepreneurs strike it rich reselling goods on Facebook

Iraqi entrepreneurs have launched Facebook pages selling US and European products to Iraqis, who usually do not have access to international goods.

Blindfolded suspected militants, with possible links to al-Qaeda, are seen at Iraqi police headquarters in Diyala province, north of Baghdad December 5, 2011. Police forces arrested 30 suspected militants during a raid in Diyala province, a police source said. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CONFLICT) - RTR2UVUD

Transitional justice fails in Iraq

After the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, measures to implement transitional justice have been largely unsuccessful.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY SALAM FARAJ
An Iraqi boy uses the light at the end of a lighter to study during a power outage in Baghdad on March 19, 2014. As recently as the 1970s, the Iraqi capital was lauded as a model city in the Arab world, but now, after decades of seemingly endless conflict, it is the world's worst city according to the latest survey by the Mercer consulting group. AFP PHOTO/ALI AL-SAADI (Photo credit should read ALI AL-SAADI/AFP/Getty Images)

Lights out on Maliki's electricity promises

Ali al-Fayyad, deputy head of the Iraqi parliament's Energy Committee, said he's hoping the private sector steps in to ease the electricity crisis that the people have suffered from for decades, especially in the scorching summer months.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani shake hands before their meeting in Istanbul April 19, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer/Pool (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR30XVH

How Turkey lost its influence in Iraq

Ankara's tilt toward the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has undermined its once considerable influence in Iraq.

Un Muayad, (L) a Ramadi resident fighting alongside tribal fighters, fires her rifle during clashes with the al Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Ramadi May 19, 2014. Muayad has been fighting against the Al-Qaeda branch since the the beginning of the uprising in her city, where a relative of her husband was killed by the ISIL. More than 420,000 people have already escaped the two main cities of western Anbar province, Falluja and Ramadi, in fighting since the start of the year. Res

Maliki’s call for unity conference in Anbar may be too late

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki recently called for a conference to solve the Anbar crisis, which might be futile if the tribal and political differences are not settled first.

Iraq's Kurdistan Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani speaks at the Iraq-Kurdistan Oil and Gas Conference at Arbil in Iraq's Kurdistan region, December 2, 2013. Turkey said on Monday it stood by a bilateral oil deal with Iraq's Kurdistan region that bypassed central government but wanted to win Baghdad's support by drawing it into the arrangement. Reuters reported that Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan signed a multi-billion-dollar energy package last week, infuriating a central Baghdad government which claims sole au

KRG risks isolation in Iraq by exporting oil through Turkey

Erbil’s decision to export oil without consulting the Baghdad government could also increase Turkish leverage on the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

A worker adjusts the valve of an oil pipe at Khurmala oilfield on the outskirts of the city of Arbil, in Iraq's Kurdistan region December 4, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - RTX163IS

Turkey’s Kurdish oil gamble

Turkey’s sale of Iraqi Kurdish crude oil could backfire for Ankara and the Kurdistan Regional Government.

IRAQ-APRIL 15: Woman walk aimlessly in a courtyard April 15, 2003 at a psychiatric hospital in Baghdad, Iraq. While most hospitals in Iraq are suffering, the psychiatric wards and hospitals have, for the most part, been completely forgotten. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Iraqis' epidemic of mental illness

Although statistics from international organizations indicate that mental illness is on the rise in Iraq, social stigma prevents patients from getting treated and students from studying psychology and psychiatry.

Sarbast Mustafa (C), chairman of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), speaks during a news conference to announce the final results of the parliamentary election in Baghdad May 19, 2014. Prime Minister Nouri Maliki won the largest share of Iraqi parliamentary seats in last month's national elections, dealing a blow to Shi?ite, Sunni and Kurdish rivals who opposed his serving a third term. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: ELECTIONS POLITICS) - RTR3PULT

Will Iraqi elections be decided in Iraq?

Given the internal divisions and sectarian tensions characterizing the Iraqi scene, external powers maintain strong influence in the country.