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

Iran cover image

Iraq

October 16, 2026

Baghdad 9:25 am

32°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

A worker adjusts a pipe at the Nassiriya oilfield in Nassiriya, 300km (185 miles) southeast of Baghdad,September 8, 2012. Production from Iraq's southern oilfields is at 2.5 million barrels per day as the country edges closer to becoming the world's biggest source of new supplies over the next few years, a senior Iraqi oil official said. Picture taken September 8, 2012. REUTERS/Atef Hassan (IRAQ - Tags: ENERGY BUSINESS) - RTR37U0U

Iraqi Provinces Consider More Autonomy in Managing Oil Wealth

An Iraqi researcher suggests that provinces across the country producing oil take advantage of the autonomy provided by amendments to the provincial administration laws.

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.