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Iraq

March 13, 2026

Baghdad 9:55 am

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Retired Israeli general and executive director of Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies Amos Yadlin attends a session at the Manama Dialogue security conference in the Bahraini capital, on Dec. 5, 2020.

Interview

Yadlin: Israel's war goal to weaken Iran, not immediate regime change

Israeli leaders are aware that Washington will decide when the war ends whether or not Israel has achieved its war aims, Yadlin told Al-Monitor.

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

Latest News

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

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

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

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

Kuridish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani (R), Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz (C) and Kurdistan Regional Government Natural Resources Minister Ashti Hawrami attend the first International Energy Arena in Arbil, about 350 km (217 miles) north of Baghdad, May 20, 2012. Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region expects to start exporting oil from its fields along a new pipeline to the Turkish border when the line is complete in August 2013, Hawrami said on Sunday. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari (IRAQ - Tags : - Tags:

Iraqi Kurdistan Region’s Lawyers Speak Out Against New Law

Disputes emerge between lawyers in the Iraqi Kurdistan region in reaction to a new law allowing foreign lawyers to practice their profession there.

Iraqis inspect the damage following fighting in Baghdad's Sadr City August 7, 2006. Two people were killed and 18 wounded when U.S. and Iraqi forces raided a suspected death squad in the mostly Shi'ite area of Sadr City in east Baghdad, a police source said. The U.S. military said they were targeting suspected members of a punishment and torture cell. REUTERS/Kareem Raheem (IRAQ) - RTR1G607

Iraqis Fear Return of 'Death Squads' To Baghdad Streets

In light of escalating political crises and sectarian divisions in Iraq, some fear the return of Baghdad’s infamous "death squads," who reigned with terror over the past 10 years.

$BAGHDAD, IRAQ - MARCH 13: A horse and cart make their way through the Bab al Sharji market, March 13, 2013 in Baghdad, Iraq. Ten years after the regime of Saddam Hussein was toppled from power, Baghdad continues to show the scars of the war. In vast areas, infrastructure is fractured and basic services are lacking, however, some areas of the capital are showing promising signs of recovery. (Photo by Ali Arkady/Metrography/Getty Images)$

Fears of Civil War Cripple Baghdad Commerce

As sectarian violence and car bombings continue to flare up across Iraq, new limits on mobility have created roadblocks to the flow of commerce in the country.

Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani votes in Iraq's constitutional referendum in the northern city of Arbil October 15, 2005. Iraqis headed to the polls in an historic referendum on Saturday, with up to 15 million eligible voters deciding on a controversial new post-Saddam Hussein constitution that its backers hope will unite the torn country. Amid intense security, including a ban on all traffic, voters flowed on foot to polling stations across Baghdad as they opened at 7 a.m. (0400 GMT). They are due to close

Iraqi Kurdish Opposition Parties Oppose Referendum

Iraqi Kurdish opposition parties insist that Kurdistan region President Massoud Barzani submit the draft constitution to the parliament.

Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr (R) and Ammar al-Hakim, leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), hold a news conference in Najaf, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad, May 8, 2013. REUTERS/Haider Ala (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXZEUT

Sadr Gives Maliki 'Final Warning'

Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr has issued a warning to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to withdraw militants from the streets amid a series of devastating car bombings throughout Iraq.

Workers hang portraits of modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (L), President Abdullah Gul (2nd L) and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan before a groundbreaking ceremony for the third Bosphorus bridge linking the European and Asian sides of Istanbul May 29, 2013. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: BUSINESS CONSTRUCTION POLITICS) - RTX1051J

Turkey’s Kurdish Policies Complicate Ties With Iran, Iraq

Turkey’s Kurdish policies are developing at the expense of its ties with Iran and Iraq.

Residents gather at the site of bomb attacks in Baghdad May 27, 2013. More than 70 people were killed in a wave of bombings in markets in Shi'ite neighbourhoods across Baghdad on Monday in worsening sectarian violence in Iraq. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTX10368

Sectarian War a Two-Way Street For Iraq and Syria

What lessons do Syria’s Alawites learn from the experience of the Sunnis in Iraq?

Turkey and Syria’s Kurds Edging Toward an Uneasy Peace?

Fresh fighting between Syrian Kurdish groups and Arab opposition fighters in Syria's Kurdish region is threatening to spread.

Workers adjust a valve of an oil pipe in Tawke oil field near Dahuk, 400 km (249 miles) north of Baghdad, November 24, 2010. In this part of Iraq, the hillsides sweat oil. Without any coaxing, the sticky black treasure oozes from the layered rock and gathers in pools that bubble as dissolved gases surface. Gradually, as the crude slips down the hillsides, it solidifies into a grey mass that resembles a hardened lava flow. It's a good metaphor for the progress of oil from the semi-autonomous Iraqi region of

Turkey Puzzled by US Stance On Exxon-KRG Oil Deal

Ankara questions US concerns over its arrangement with ExxonMobil for energy exploration in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (R) speaks during a joint news conference with Iraqi parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi in Baghdad December 20, 2010. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXVWR8

Iraq’s Future Uncertain Amid Political Turmoil

As disputes persist among Iraq’s governmental branches, it is unlikely that a resolution will be reached anytime soon.

A physical therapist treats a patient at a medical clinic in Baghdad March 8, 2011. Development in Iraq has been stifled by decades of economic sanctions and war and SMEs, often seen as the backbone of a country's economy, have made little progress in Iraq due to high start-up costs and scant government funding. Chronic power and water shortages, ongoing security concerns and high customs tariffs have all made it difficult for a small business sector to emerge. Picture taken March 8, 2011. To match fe

Maliki Prioritizes Health Care

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki gives priority to the construction of 10 new hospitals as part of efforts to develop and improve the Iraqi health-care sector.

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

Maliki Scrambles to Address Deteriorating Iraqi Security

Iraq's leaders have no answers as they struggle to reassure Iraqis after a wave of terrorist bombings.