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

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Iraq

March 12, 2026

Baghdad 7:07 pm

19°C

Commercial vessels are pictured offshore in Dubai on March 11, 2026. AFP via Getty Images

Oil jumps above $100 as energy crisis called worst in history: What to know

The latest spike is the second time in a week that oil prices have climbed above $100 a barrel.

Fighters lift flags of Iraq and paramilitary groups, including al-Nujaba and Kataib Hezbollah, during a funeral in Baghdad for five militants killed a day earlier in a US strike in northern Iraq, on Dec. 4, 2023.

US warns of kidnapping threat in Iraq as Iran-backed militia hits diplomatic facility

A number of US-related sites have been targeted by Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq, prompting Baghdad to bolster its air defenses.

The sun sets behind burning gas flares at the Dora Oil Refinery Complex in Baghdad on Nov. 24, 2025.

Exclusive

Baghdad, US turn to Iraqi Kurds for oil exports as Iran war hits supplies

Baghdad wants Kurdish pipelines to move up to 200,000 barrels per day to global markets, but Erbil is demanding relief from a dollar embargo and greater autonomy over trade.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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.

Latest News

Analysis

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

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

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

Which 6 Kurdish groups could join the war in Iran?

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

Exclusive

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

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.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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

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

Syria Splits Shiite Clergy in Iraq, Iran

While Shiite authorities in Iran and Iraq have historically had a close relationship, Iran has been dismayed by Najafi clerics's refusal to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s civil war.

An electrician walks past wires connected to a local generator in Baghdad January 23, 2011. Iraq is slowly getting back on its feet after decades of war and economic sanctions, but a chronic power shortage is hobbling the development of local industry just when it is needed most. An unemployment rate that some officials say runs at 30 percent represents not just an economic challenge but also provides muscle for a lingering insurgency as the sectarian warfare unleashed after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion fades

Iraq's Dysfunctional Elite

A new ruling Iraqi oligarchy is squandering Iraq’s wealth.

Men hold Kurdish flags and a poster of Kurdistan leader Masoud Barazani during a Nowruz celebration organized by Kurdish groups at the seaside town of Rawshe in Beirut, March 21, 2013. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: RELIGION POLITICS) - RTR3FA2H

Kurdish National Congress Seeks Unity Amid Divisions

The Kurdish National Congress, to be held in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region on Aug. 24, will seek a common agenda for Kurds divided over the war in Syria.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (C) and acting Defence Minister Saadoun al-Dulaimi (L) attend a funeral ceremony for soldiers killed by militants, in Baghdad April 28, 2013. Militants shot dead five Iraqi soldiers in the Sunni Muslim stronghold province of Anbar on Saturday and protesters said they were forming an "army" after four days of unrest that raised fears of a return to widespread sectarian civil conflict. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CIVIL UNREST) - RTXZ2Y6

Is Maliki Considering Postponing Iraq's Parliamentary Elections?

There is speculation in Baghdad that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki may consider postponing Iraq's parliamentary elections scheduled for next year.

A woman applies lipstick at a beauty parlour in Baghdad September 21, 2011. As Iraq's violence ebbs and Baghdad life stabilizes, hair salons, gyms or beauty centres are starting to flourish again in the capital, bringing the city's women the touch of glamour they lost during the country's bloody sectarian strife and the economic sanctions in the 1990s. Picture taken September 21, 2011. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: SOCIETY) - RTR2SK4Q

Slowly, Surely Iraqi Women Increase Visibility, Role in Society

Although religious and conservative groups call for limiting the role of women in Iraqi society, women continue to flourish in the business and educational worlds.

A member of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporter of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi climbs up the main door of the Attorney General's office to spray a graffiti, which reads "Interior thugs", above posters of Mursi during a protest at the courthouse in downtown Cairo August 5, 2013. Several thousand Islamist supporters of Mursi marched through downtown Cairo on Monday calling for his reinstatement and denouncing the army general who led his overthrow. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: POLIT

How Iraqis Assess Egypt's Coup

Iraqis who view the Middle East’s developments from a purely sectarian perspective would do well to reconsider that approach as regional events play out.

Women march during a rally to mark "Al Quds" or Jerusalem Day in Baghdad, August 2, 2013. REUTERS/Saad Shalash(IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST) - RTX12859

Iraqi Government Suppresses Baghdad Demonstrations

The Iraqi government exercises its power to allow and reject popular demonstrations at will.

Relatives of missing people wait to fill application forms at a Human Rights office in Ramadi, 100 km (60 miles) west of Baghdad February 26, 2012. The Human Rights ministry in Iraq launched a campaign to test DNA and identify bodies. Around 300 suspected mass graves have been discovered around Iraq since Saddam Hussein was overthrown in 2003. Picture taken February 26, 2012. REUTERS/Ali al-Mashhadani (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2YKDR

Iraq’s Civilian Activists Under Siege

Civilian activists in Iraq have increasingly been subject to attacks, killings and threats from the authorities, militias and terrorist organizations.

A passenger walks beside a train in a train station in Baghdad May 6, 2013. Iraq's infrastructure is dilapidated after decades of war, sanctions and economic decline. In a country where piles of rubble and incomplete buildings are commonplace, almost every sector needs investment, including electricity and the sewage system. But the country is laying plans to rebuild its historic railways and become a transit hub for goods that would be shipped from Asia to Iraq’s neighbours and beyond. Iraq's railways date

Iraqi Women Endure Sexual Harassment

Increasing awareness of sexual harassment and abuse endured by Iraqi women on a daily basis has shed light on the need for social institutions to combat this kind of injustice.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki speaks during the International Islamic Conference for the Convergence and Dialogue in Baghdad April 27, 2013. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) - RTXZ1MF

Iraqi Politician Calls On Maliki to Step Down

Iraqi politician Fakhri Kareem has called on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to form a national salvation government and step down.

Two children carrying food and water walk in front of the shrine
containing the tomb of Jewish prophet Ezekiel in the Iraqi town of
Kifl, 140 km south of Baghdad, on Wednesday, July 16,2003. The town,
which has drawn visitors from across Iraq and beyond because of the
shrine and its picturesque ancient market, was the scene of a fierce
battle in which hundreds of people died during the Iraq war but it is
now bustling again. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini REUTERS

SR/CLH/ - RTRL2O

Israel's Iraq Channel

Exiled Iraqi Jews in Israel and elsewhere are convinced that the moment has come for Israel to build bridges to Iraq.

A soldier waves to pilgrims marching towards Imam Moussa al-Kadhim shrine in Baghdad's Kadhimiya district June 4, 2013. Every year, thousands of Shi'ite pilgrims gather at the shrine to commemorate the death of Imam Moussa al-Kadhim, one of the 12 imams of Shi'ite, who was imprisoned for four years and poisoned by the then ruler Harun al-Rashid in 795 AD. REUTERS/Saad Shalash (IRAQ - Tags: RELIGION MILITARY) - RTX10B2B

Iraq’s Security Services in Crisis

Iraq's security services are finding themselves unable to prevent terrorism.