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

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Iraq

August 16, 2026

Baghdad 11:51 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

Iraq Sudani

Iraqi government, parliament working together to pass bills

The pace of completion of pending legislation is quickening amid noticeable cooperation between the executive and legislative branches of the current government.

Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (C) arrives at the parliament ahead of a confidence vote on a new government, Baghdad, Iraq, Oct. 27, 2022.

Iraqi PM tries to assure skeptics of anti-corruption initiative

The new Iraqi prime minister says there will be no tolerance for human rights abuses in battling corruption.

His Majesty King Abdullah II, accompanied by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein, receives Iraq Prime Minister Mohamed Shia Al Sudani at Marka Military Airport

Iraq's prime minister makes first foreign trip to Jordan

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani met with Jordan's King Abdullah II in Amman to discuss bilateral relations and regional issues.

A Kurdish peshmerga fighter affiliated with the Iranian Kurdistan Democratic Party inspects the damage following an Iranian cross-border attack in the town of Koye (Koysinjaq), Iraqi Kurdistan, Oct. 1, 2022.

Analysis

Iran strikes Iraqi Kurdistan again, warns of possible ground operation

Several areas of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq were targeted overnight after an IRGC commander warned of possible ground invasion and the Iranian ambassador set out demands.

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

Turkish troops are pictured on the outskirts of the Syrian town of Afrin on October 19, 2022 as the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) jihadist group advances towards Syrian opposition-held areas in the northern Syria. - Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Al-Qaeda's former Syria affiliate, is gaining ground from rival rebels in Syria's Turkish-held north on the heels of some of the deadliest inter-rebel fighting in the region in years.

Turkey bombs Syria, Iraq in response to Istanbul terror attack

Fears are rising in Syria's Kurdish-controlled northeast over a potential military incursion by Turkey.

Kurdistan

Iran says attacks on Iraqi Kurdistan will continue

Tehran vows to continue targeting Iraq's Kurdistan region until the Iranian Kurdish opposition leave the area permanently.

A Kurdish peshmerga fighter affiliated with the Iranian Kurdistan Democratic Party stands guard on top of a building following an Iranian cross-border attack in the town of Koye (Koysinjaq), Iraqi Kurdistan, Oct. 1, 2022.

Iran renews assaults on Iraq’s Kurdistan Region

Iran again bombed Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, targeting alleged headquarters of the Iranian-Kurdish opposition located in northern Iraq.

An Iraqi worker adjusts a control valve at the Daura oil refinery, Baghdad, Iraq, Nov. 5, 2009.

Iraq expands refining capacity to reduce oil product imports

Many of the refineries in Iraq are outdated and operate below capacity.

The new Iraqi dinar banknotes are shown ready for distribution at the Bank of Baghdad, as the currency is introduced for the first time, Iraq, Oct. 15, 2003.

Will Iraq's new government reconsider dinar exchange rate?

A number of leaders of the Coordination Framework, the bloc leading the new Iraqi government, are pushing to increase the value of the dinar in an attempt to support the poor — yet some argue the measure could backfire.

LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images

New Iraqi government moves to block porn sites

Iraq's Ministry of Communication has ordered that pornographic websites be blocked across Iraq.

Kurdcoin founder says lack of regulation crypto's big challenge in Iraq

Al-Monitor interviewed Abdurrahman Bapir, who heads Iraq’s first cryptocurrency exchange, on the appeal of cryptocurrency in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region and how the crypto crash has affected the domestic market.

Syria fighting

Airstrikes on Syria-Iraq border target Iranian fuel convoy

Iran blames a deadly unidentified attack on a fuel convoy shortly after it entered Syria on the US, despite official denials.