Iraq - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Iran cover image

Iraq

October 15, 2026

Baghdad 7:14 pm

34°C

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

In a break from past policies, the new governments in Damascus and Baghdad are clamping down on militant groups with the capacity or desire to harm regional partners.

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

Iraqi 'Exile' Politicians Build Patronage Networks

Former exiles who are now leading politicans are perceived by many Iraqis as abusing their authority and privileges.

Al-Moussawi Says Iraq Can Be'Bridge' to Syria Solution

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Ali Al-Moussawi, top media adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, discusses the Geneva II Syria conference and Iraqi-Turkish relations.

Iraqi boys are seen through the broken window of a car which was damaged in mortar attack in southwest Baghdad, December 11, 2006. REUTERS/Namir Noor-Eldeen (IRAQ) - RTR1KAON

Iraq's Moral Deficit

Iraqis have the moral and historical responsibility to find an agreed-upon national project, if they want to save their country from collapse.

Where Do Babylonian Jewry's Archives Belong?

The archives of Iraq's Jewish community should be returned to Baghdad and serve as the cornerstone for a historic reconciliation between Babylonian Jewry and their homeland.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) meets with Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad March 24, 2013. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Sunday and will urge Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to make sure Iranian flights over Iraq do not carry arms and fighters to Syria, a U.S. official said. REUTERS/Jason Reed (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTXXVJU

Maliki Seeks to Leverage US-Iran Opening

Security is at the top of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s visit to Washington, but he may also consider a US-Iran rapprochement as a means to strengthen his chances for a third term.

Iraqi political leaders and members of parliament including from (L-R) Iyad Allawi, former prime minister and head of the secular Iraqiya coalition, Iraqi parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, Iraq's President Jalal Talabani, Kurdish President Masoud Barzani, Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Malik and Iraq's Kurdistan region Prime Minister Barham Salih are attend the 13th Conference of Kurdistan Democratic Party in Arbil, 310 km (190 miles) north of Baghdad December 11, 2010. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari (IRAQ - Tags:

PUK divided after losses in Kurdistan region parliament

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan has fractured following the substantial losses it sustained in September's Iraqi Kurdistan Region parliamentary elections.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javed Zarif (L) speaks during a joint news conference with his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari in Baghdad, September 8, 2013. The United States will ignite a fire across the Middle East if it attacks Syria, Zarif said on a visit to Iraq on Sunday, warning Western powers against warmongering. REUTERS/Ahmad Al-Rubaye/Pool (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX13CU2

Will Tehran’s Iraq Policy Change Under Rouhani?

Considering Tehran’s increasing openness with the West, will Iranian policy toward Iraq change under its new president?

A man looks at a car on fire at the site of a bomb attack in Baghdad October 7, 2013. Bombs exploded across the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 22 people, police said. Five of the six blasts were in mainly Shi'ite Muslim districts, but there was also an explosion in the predominantly Sunni Muslim neighborhood of Doura. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX142ZK

Maliki to Appeal for US Help In Fighting Terrorism

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will make the case that terrorism in Iraq is directly related to the war in Syria.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (R) welcomes his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan at Baghdad International Airport, October 15, 2009. REUTERS/Iraqi Government/Handout (IRAQ POLITICS) - RTXPNTX

Erdogan Rebuilds Ties to Iraq

Regional events are catalysts for a rapprochement between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Rafi Essawi (R) meets with Hassan al-Shammari, head of the Iraqi Islamic al Fadila parliamentary bloc, in Baghdad October 1, 2010. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXSX67

Proposed personal status law will not help Iraqi Jaafaris

A proposed law to protect the personal status of Shiite Jaafaris is redundant and may in fact cause them harm.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) shakes hands with his Iraqi counterpart Hoshiyar Zebari after a news conference in Ankara October 25, 2013. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX14NP6

Turkey, Iraq Work to Renew Ties

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari’s visit to Ankara last week suggests Turkey is trying to adjust its approach to its neighbors.

Relatives carry the coffin of an Iraqi police officer killed by militants during a funeral in Najaf, around 160 km (99 miles)
south of Baghdad May 20, 2013. The attacks took place in the Sunni heartland of Anbar, where gunmen on Saturday ambushed and kidnapped 10 policemen near the provincial capital of Ramadi, and four members of a government-backed Sunni militia fighters were killed near Falluja city When Sunni-Shi'ite bloodshed was at its height in 2006-07, Anbar, which shares a border with Syria, was i

Al-Qaeda Sets Sights On Iraq’s Anbar Province

As al-Qaeda-affiliated groups expand their activities throughout Iraq, some believe they are eyeing Anbar province, where a “huge battle” could unfold in the near future.