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Iraq

October 17, 2026

Baghdad 9:15 pm

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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

Iraqi police stand guard during foot patrol at Rabia, near the main border between Iraq and Syria March 2, 2013. Clashes between the Syrian army and rebels at a border post brought the civil war close to neighbouring Iraq, where troops fired warning shots into the air, residents, officials and a Reuters reporter said. Insurgents seized control of half of the northeastern Syrian town of Yaarabiya, including a border post with Iraq, in a battle with forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad on Friday and earl

The Iraqi and Turkish Fault Lines

The Syria war spreads to Iraq; Turkey is increasingly divided over Prime Minister Erdogan’s Syrian policies; and Secretary of State John Kerry’s trip to the region includes progress toward a political solution in Syria.

People walk past a campaign poster featuring Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and announcing the provincial elections on March 2, 2013 near Tahrir Square in Baghdad. The elections will take place in April amid a political crisis in Iraq that has pitted Nuri al-Maliki against several of his erstwhile government partners and tensions have been heightened by the protests. AFP PHOTO SABAH ARAR (Photo credit should read SABAH ARAR/AFP/Getty Images)

Iraqi Factions Debate Transferring Ministerial Powers to Provinces

Iraqi politicians have divided along factional lines in a debate over whether certain ministries should be shifted from federal to provinicial authority, reports Omar al-Shaher.

A Kurdish Peshmerga soldier holds a Kurdistan flag during a deployment in the area near the northern Iraqi border with Syria, which lies in an area disputed by Baghdad and the Kurdish region of Ninawa province, August 6, 2012. Picture taken August 6, 2012. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari (IRAQ - Tags: CONFLICT POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR3B87N

Kurds Protest Iraqi Forces Sent To Disputed Region on Syrian Border

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki deploys forces to the Sinjar province, near the Syrian border, upsetting local Kurds and signaling an escalation of the Syrian conflict to Iraq, reports Abdel Hamid Zebari.

An Iraqi policeman stands guard next to election candidates posters in Baghdad March 3, 2010. Iraq will hold a parliamentary election on Sunday that could set it on a path to greater peace and prosperity or throw it back into the bloodshed and chaos that almost tore it apart in the seven years since the U.S. invasion. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR2B68L

Iraqi Provincial Election Campaigns Begin

The electoral campaigns are starting for the April 2013 elections, with calls from senior clerics for clean campaigning by candidates, writes Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

A Kurdish man walks between coffins draped with Kurdish flag containing the remains of victims during a burial ceremony in Sulaimaniya, 260km (162 miles) northeast of Baghdad, May 28, 2012. More than 700 Kurds, killed by former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, were honoured in a ceremony in northern Iraq on Monday. Kurdish officials gathered at the Police Academy in Suleimaniya province to mourn 730 victims of Iraq's notorious 'Anfal' campaign, whose bodies were discovered in mass graves in southern Iraq in Jul

Iraqi Kurds Seek Recognition Of Genocide by Saddam

Nearly 25 years after the Iraqi Kurdish city of Halabja was attacked with chemical weapons, the Kurdistan Regional Government continues to seek international recognition of the Anfal as genocide, reports Abdel Hamid Zebari.

Iraqi parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi speaks during a news conference in Baghdad July 31, 2011. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2PHJW

Speaker Accuses Maliki of Meddling In Iraq's Independent Commissions

Iraqi Speaker of the Council of Representatvies Osama Al-Nujaifi has criticized Prime MInister Nouri Al-Maliki for interfering in Iraq's independent commissions, provoking strong responses from Maliki's State of Law Coalition, reports Ali Abel Sadah.

Iraqi Finance Minister Rafie al-Issawi attends an anti-government demonstration in Ramadi, 100 km (62 miles) west of Baghdad, March 1, 2013. Iraq's finance minister resigned on Friday in front of crowds of Sunni Muslim protesters who have rallied daily against the Shi'ite-led government for more than two months, demanding an end to marginalisation of their minority sect. REUTERS/Ali al-Mashhadani (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST BUSINESS) - RTR3EFRV

Finance Minister's Resignation Escalates Iraqi Crisis

Mustafa al-Kadhimi asks whether Iraq’s politicians have abandoned negotiations to exploit the ongoing protests for electoral gains.

A man counts stacks of Iranian rials on a street in Kerbala, 110 km (68 miles) south of Baghdad January 23, 2013. REUTERS/Mushtaq Muhammed (IRAQ - Tags: BUSINESS POLITICS) - RTR3CU69

Iraqi Politician Attacks Central Bank Corruption

The Iraqi Sunni politician Ahmed al-Alwani claims that Iraqi private banks have been involved in schemes to bypass the sanctions imposed on Syria and Iran, reports Omar al-Shaher.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (R) welcomes Egypt's Prime Minister Hisham Qandil during his visit to Baghdad, in this March 4, 2013 picture provided by Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office. REUTERS/Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTR3EK27

Maliki Seeks to Improve Ties With Egypt

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has held meetings with his Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood counterpart, Hesham Kandil, in a bid to rebuild ties, but challenges remain, writes Ali Abel Sadah.

Iraqi Muslim worshippers, reflected on a portrait of the Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, perform Friday Prayers outside al-Sadr's office in eastern Baghdad March 25, 2005. REUTERS/Ali Jasim HH/CCK - RTR61YO

Muqtada al-Sadr Attacks Iraq's Integrity Committee

The Iraqi Commission of Integrity has become the latest target in Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr’s campaign against Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in a dispute that began in 2008, writes Ali Abel Sadah.

Smoke rises after what the photographer said were missiles fired by a Syrian Air Force fighter jet loyal to President Bashar al-Assad at the Syrian town of Yaarabiya, near the main border between Syria and Iraq March 2, 2013. Clashes between the Syrian army and rebels at a border post brought the civil war close to neighbouring Iraq, where troops fired warning shots into the air, residents, officials and a Reuters reporter said. Insurgents seized control of half of the northeastern Syrian town of Yaarabiya,

Iraq's Border Becomes New Fault Line in Syrian War

An ambush on the Iraq-Syria border that killed 62 Syrian soldiers and nine Iraqi guards has brought the Syrian civil war to Iraq, writes Mushreq Abbas.

A professor gives a lecture to students at the College of Administration and Economy in Baghdad University March 16, 2009. Iraqi academics who fled abroad from violence and oppression are trickling back home in response to pleas from their government -- but they are finding jobs few and the welcome far from warm. Many waited years for Saddam Hussein to fall, and longer for sectarian violence, triggered by the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, to end. Picture taken March 16, 2009. To match Feature IRAQ/ACADEMICS

In Weak Economy, Iraqis Look for Government Jobs

Amid a floundering job market, many Iraqis look to public-sector jobs as a means of stable, permanent employment, reports Omar al-Shaher.