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

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Iraq

August 16, 2026

Baghdad 10:27 pm

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A man inspects the damage at the site of a strike in Bartalla, in the northern Iraq's Nineveh province, after US-Saudi attacks on militias, July 29, 2026.

Iraq intel and security officials visit Saudi Arabia after drone attacks

Iraqi authorities are cracking down on drone attacks after US and Saudi airstrikes targeted Iran-backed militias in the country.

The commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Esmail Qaani, speaks during a commemoration ceremony marking the anniversary of the 2020 killing of Guards general Qasem Soleimani (on screen) in the capital Tehran on Jan. 3, 2024.

Analysis

What Qaani's Baghdad visit reveals about Iran's post-war dilemma

The Quds Force commander's Baghdad visit is occurring as Iran faced difficult choices in Iraq where the government is moving to bring powerful armed groups under state control after the recent war.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Qaani

IRGC chief Qaani reportedly in Iraq ahead of militia deadline

Esmail Qaani, who heads the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, has been heavily involved in Iran’s relations with Iraqi militias.

Latest News

Analysis

How Turkey is deepening energy and economic ties with Iraq as Iran weakens

a worker inspects an oil field in Iraq

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Iraqi Kurdish president’s meeting with Syria’s Sharaa signals shift in SDF dynamics

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa meets with Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani in Damascus, Aug. 3, 2026. IKRPresident/X

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 Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani attends the "Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership" in Sweimeh by the Dead Sea shore in central-west Jordan on Dec. 20, 2022.

Iraqi prime minister sees tensions spike with political allies

Differences are growing between Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani and his political ally in parliament, the Coordination Framework.

A member of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi stands guard in front of a banner depicting slain Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis (L) and Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani, near Baghdad's International Airport on January 2, 2023. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraq's pro-Iran militias plan mass demonstrations on anniversary of Soleimani's killing

The PMU had set up a monument of Qassim Soleimani and Abo Mahdi Mohandas on Baghdad's airport boulevard this year, something that the former Iraqi government had blocked

SABAH ARAR/AFP via Getty Images

Iraq's tech ecosystem offers bright spot for private sector

Despite numerous regional and country-specific challenges, Iraqi start-ups had a good year.

Sunset shot showing a row of electricity pylons in the desert, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Getty Images)

Analysis

2022 in review: Saudi-China, Qatar-Germany deals cap Middle East's energy developments

Hydrogen power, oil price fluctuations and electric vehicles could feature prominently in the region in 2023.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

An Iraqi man counts Iraqi dinars as he exchanges them for US dollars at a money exchange office, Baghdad, Iraq, Dec. 12 2007.

Iraq's Central Bank moves to strengthen dinar against US dollar

The plan includes a measure to buy more Chinese yuan. Other states are also considering using the yuan more.

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images

Iraqi PM orders 'unconventional methods' to stop Islamic State attacks

The killing of soldiers and civilians in multiple IS attacks in two governorates has prompted calls for a change in tactics.

Dignitaries pose together in a family photo at the start of the Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership.

Iraqi PM stresses need for regional reconciliation at summit in Jordan

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani attended the second round of the Baghdad conference today in Jordan and expressed Iraq's willingness to push forward on regional cooperation and partnership.

Governor Rakan al-Jabouri (C) attends the repatriation ceremony for members of Iraq's federal police members who were killed in suspected IS attack, at Kirkuk airport in northern Iraq on December 18, 2022. (Photo by MARWAN IBRAHIM/AFP via Getty Images)

Latest Islamic State attack highlights security challenges facing Iraq

The Islamic State continues to carry out attacks in northern Iraq, creating serious security challenges for the country.

A Yazidi girl catches a scarf in a religious ritual at the Lalish temple in Dahuk, Nov. 17, 2022.

Yazidis in Iraqi Kurdistan face 'extinction,' community leaders say

As Yazidis struggle to survive in displacement camps in Iraq, one community leader continues to help women survivors of the Islamic State genocide to resettle in Europe.

A man walks past the World Bank building in Washington on April 21, 2022.

World Bank says debt increasing in Middle East countries

Egypt, Iran and Turkey’s debt rose significantly last year.

cafe

Arab influx to Iraqi Kurdistan helps revive economy but corrupts local culture, critics say

Iraqi Kurds are alarmed by the influx of Arabs into their region, fearing they will dilute their ethnic identity and corrupt their values. Yet the Arabs are critical to the region's economy, which increasingly caters to their needs.

A man walks past a French-language daily newspaper stand displaying the final issue of Algerian French-language daily newspaper "Liberté" in Algeria's capital Algiers on April 14, 2022. (Photo by RYAD KRAMDI/AFP via Getty Images)

In press freedom index, Middle Eastern countries go from bad to worse

Press freedom and journalist safety remain “very bad” in the majority of the Middle East and North Africa nations, Reporters Without Borders' 2022 index shows.