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Iraq

May 9, 2026

Baghdad 5:11 pm

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Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada Sadr gives a speech in Iraq's central holy shrine city of Najaf on August 30, 2022.

Iraq’s Sadr says 'exclude' armed groups from next government as pressure builds

The cleric's call comes as Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi tries to form a government amid political divisions and US demands to curb the influence of Iran-backed actors.

Popular Mobilization Forces

US sets expectations for Iraq’s next PM to confront Iranian militias

The Trump administration is cautiously sizing up Iraq’s new prime minister-designate, Ali al-Zaidi, as a potential partner in pushing back on Iranian influence.

Zaidi

Analysis

Iraq’s Zaidi offers economic promise for Turkey but unknowns loom

Iraq’s prime minister-designate, Ali al-Zaidi, is expected to sustain growing economic and strategic ties with Turkey thanks to his business-oriented approach, though uncertainty over his political stance could test cooperation on sensitive issues.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Latest News

Analysis

US banking on Iraqi turnaround with nomination of Zaidi as new PM

Ali Al-Zaidi

Week in Review

By Week in Review

Analysis

MENA wheat importers face food security risks as Hormuz crisis festers

Crops of wheat and barley in Terbol village on May 10, 2022, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Trump congratulates Iraq PM-designate Zaidi in call: What to know

Iraq's prime minister-designate, Ali al-Zaidi, at Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's office on April 28, 2026.

Meet Ali al-Zaidi, businessman and Iraq's new prime minister-designate

Prime Minister Mohammed S. al-Sudani met with Prime Minister-designate Ali Faleh al-Zaidi on April 28, 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

Kasbana Hassan gestures inside her burnt out house, where four Egyptian Shi'ites were killed, in the suburb of Zawiyat Abu Musallem, on the outskirts of Cairo, June 24, 2013. Egypt's government promised "exemplary punishment" on Monday after the mob killing of four Shi'ite Muslims near Cairo raised fears of wider sectarian bloodshed at a time of grave national crisis. In Sunday's violence in the suburb of Zawiyat Abu Musallem, in sight of the Giza pyramids, a crowd ransacked and torched the house of a famil

Shiite Leaders in Iraq, Iran React to Egypt Killings

The killing of Egyptian Shiite preacher Hassan Shehata has led many Shiite leaders in Iraq and Iran to call for adherents to tone down sectarian rhetoric.

Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr speaks to the media during a visit to the Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad January 4, 2013. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: RELIGION) - RTR3C3HO

Sadr Talks Big to US Ambassador

While Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's popularity wanes, radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr looks to boost his own appeal with harsh words for the United States.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (R) speaks next to his Iraqi Kurdish counterpart Nechirvan Barzani during a meeting of the Council of Ministers in Arbil, about 350 km (220 miles) north of Baghdad June 9, 2013. Maliki visited the Kurdistan region on Sunday for the first time in more than two years, in an attempt to resolve a long-running dispute over oil and land that has strained Iraq's unity to the limit. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX10H5T

Iraqi Federal Court Delays Ruling on Term-Limit Law

The Iraqi Federal Supreme Court has yet to rule on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's challenge of a term-limit law, which leads some to believe the court is awaiting the results of the 2014 elections.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara June 25, 2013. Turkish anti-terrorism police detained 20 people in raids in the capital Ankara on Tuesday in connection with weeks of anti-government protests across the country, media reports said. The unrest began at the end of May when police used force against campaigners opposed to plans to redevelop a central Istanbul park. The protest spiralled int

Turkey's Political Fallout On Iraqi Kurdish Crude

Relying upon Ankara as a sole energy transit route without an agreement with Baghdad may further delay the Kurdistan Region’s energy production potential.

Clerics work on computers at a religious research center associated with the seminary in Qom, 120 km (75 miles) south of Tehran February 2, 2009. REUTERS/Caren Firouz (IRAN) - RTXB5VD

Iran’s Seminarians React To Rouhani’s Election

Qom Seminary in Iran seems to have pinned its hopes on Rouhani's ability to reduce international pressure and restore the clergy's standing domestically.

A resident walks at the entrance of a cinema in Baghdad April 26, 2011. Iraq once had 82 cinemas, 64 of them located in the teeming capital, home to about 7 million of Iraq's 30 million people. One by one, they closed during the Saddam era, when the government controlled the selection and importation of films, until only five remained at the time of the invasion. The insurgency that followed and killed tens of thousands of people made Iraqis afraid of being in public places and crowds. They chose the relati

Iraqi Kurdistan Seeks Cinema Revival

With Erbil slated to be the 2014 Arab Capital of Tourism, the city has teamed up with the private sector to build 14 movie theaters, decades after general interest in cinema had dwindled.

Members of the Iraqi special forces stand guard at a checkpoint in central Baghdad March 23, 2012. The Iraqi government has tightened security measures ahead of the Arab League summit, which is scheduled to be held in Baghdad at the end of March. REUTERS/Saad Shalash (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR2ZRA8

Iraq’s Security Apparatuses Focus On Human Rights

In an ever unstable security situation, Iraq’s security apparatuses have a reputation for violating human rights and resorting to extreme use of force, a reputation the government is working to do away with.

Empty and disused Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL Group) containers are seen at Malta Freeport in the Port of Marsaxlokk outside Valletta February 10, 2012. The IRISL ships and containers are key parts in an international cat-and-mouse game: Iran's attempt to evade the trade sanctions tightening around it. Washington and European capitals want to stop or slow Iran's nuclear programme. They believe that IRISL, which moves nearly a third of Iran's exports and imports and is central to the coun

Iraq: Iran’s Economic Gateway To the World

Amid strict international sanctions, Iranian exports are increasingly flowing into Iraqi markets as one of its few remaining lifelines in the region and around the world.

Iraqi police display drugs which were seized in the southern city of Kerbala, 100 kms (62 miles) south of Baghdad September 6, 2005. The Major Crime Unit in Kerbala arrested four men attempting to smuggle over 20 kgs (44 pounds) of cocaine, heroin and hashish into Iraq, the latest in a string of recent seizures. The heroin was hidden in bags which were labelled as Costa Rican coffee. Police put the value of the drugs at around 280 million Iraqi dinars (about $1,930,000). REUTERS/Mshatq Mohamad RCS/VP - RTR

Drug Use Spreads Among Iraqi Youth

There is a growing drug problem among Iraqi youth, who deflect criticism of their drug use by offering social and economic justifications.

Saddam Hussein (R) stands with his guards behind him at an artillery
piece during the Iraq-Iran war in this undated file photo. The picture
is among exhibits at The Leader's Museum in Baghdad. British Prime
Minister Tony Blair published a dossier on Iraq's weapons programme on
Tuesday which claimed Saddam could launch weapons of mass destruction
at just 45 minutes' notice and was seeking to build a nuclear
capability. REUETRS/Handout

FK - RTRB072

Iraqi Defense Ministry Asks KRG To Return Saddam-Era Weapons

The Iraqi Ministry of Defense has filed a lawsuit against the Kurdistan Regional Government, claiming that the latter has failed to return Saddam-era weapons and military equipment.

Egyptians carry the coffin of a Shi'ite victim, who was killed in sectarian violence, before funeral prayers in El Sayeda Nafisa Mosque in Cairo, June 24, 2013. Egypt's president, accused of fuelling sectarian hatred, promised swift justice on Monday for a deadly attack on minority Shi'ites as he tried to quell broader factional fighting to avoid a threatened military intervention. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST RELIGION) - RTX10ZDU

Iraqis React to Lynchings in Egypt

The lynching of Shiites in Egypt demonstrates just how far-reaching sectarian tensions in the Middle East and the Arab world have become.

A resident jumps into water for a swim at Ahmed Awa tourist resort, known for its waterfalls, near Iraq's border with Iran where three American hikers are believed to have disappeared, near Sulaimaniyah, 260 km (160 miles) northeast of Baghdad, August 5, 2009. An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Wednesday he could not confirm whether three Americans had been detained by Iran. Picture taken August 5, 2009. REUTERS/Jamal Penjweny (IRAQ CONFLICT TRAVEL) - RTR26G8J

Iraqi Kurdistan Offers Loans to Tourism Sector

To keep up with its quickly growing tourism sector, the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government has begun offering loans to those wishing to build hotels and other touristic facilities.