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Iraq

October 3, 2026

Baghdad 12:04 am

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An Airbus A321 airliner arrives at the Mehrabad international airport during the delivery of the first batch of planes to the Iranian state airline Iran Air in the capital Tehran on Jan. 12, 2017.

Iraq announces Iran flights to resume: What to know

Iraqis protested the latest move aimed at pressuring Iran and an Iran-backed militia vowed a response if the flights do not come back.

Turkish soldiers conduct military exercises near the Habur crossing gate between Turkey and Iraq on Sept. 27, 2017 in the Silopi district, southeast Turkey.

Analysis

Can Turkey’s Bashiqa withdrawal pave the way for deeper Iraq ties?

Ankara hopes the planned handover of its Bashiqa base will deepen security cooperation with Baghdad and unlock broader economic ties, but implementation hinges on restoring Iraqi state authority in Sinjar, where previous efforts to remove armed groups have stalled.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Iraqi soldiers from the new 'desert battalion' special forces stand next to military vehicles as the take part in a graduation ceremony, after months of training by the French military, at the Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar west of Baghdad on February 29, 2024. (Photo by Ahmad AL-RUBAYE / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

How militias in Anbar could complicate Iraq’s energy ambitions

Securing western Anbar is emerging as a key test of Iraq’s ability to curb armed factions, attract foreign investment and unlock the province’s vast energy potential.

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

Latest News

Explainer

Turkey agrees to hand over contentious Bashiqa base to Iraq

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi meets with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in New York City, Sept. 23, 2026.

Rubio meets Iraq’s PM as remaining US troops prepare exit

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi

Explainer

From Maysan to Saudi Arabia, drone attack puts Iraqi province under scrutiny

A man uses a pole to navigate a boat

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 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.

Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Riyadh, Dec. 9, 2022.

Iraqi PM calls for closer ties with China

During the Arab-China Summit in Riyadh, Muhammad Shia al-Sudani expressed Iraq's willingness to join the Belt and Road Initiative and expand ties and relationship with China.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani addresses Middle East Research Institute Workshop on ‘Iraq’s Immediate Priorities’ in Baghdad, Dec. 7, 2022.

Analysis

Iran looms large over Iraqi PM’s reform agenda

Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s government is seeking a fast start amid uncertainty in Iran.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

Barzanis

Family feuds among Iraq’s Kurdish leaders embolden Iran

Iraqi Kurdish leaders are at each other’s throats instead of closing ranks as Iran rains cross-border missile and drone attacks on the region and threatens a ground invasion.

Iraq finance

Iraqi startup Lezzoo expands with purchase of Saydo

The delivery startup is one of several in the autonomous Kurdistan Region, and the autonomous government is hoping to spur more startup growth.

Mourners accompany the casket of one of the two protesters killed earlier in clashes.

Protests erupt in southern Iraq as man sentenced for tweeting against PMU

Security concerns for southern Iraq have risen following an attempted suicide attack near Karbala and deadly protests in Nasiriyah sparked by a prison sentence for a man accused of insulting security forces.

Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr gives a speech in the central holy shrine city of Najaf, Iraq, Aug. 30, 2022.

Iraq's Sadr takes aim at LGBTQ community

Leader of the Sadrist movement Muqtada al-Sadr made the headlines again in Iraq by announcing his opposition to homosexuality, several months into his withdrawal from the political process.

ISIS leader death

Syrian rebels kill IS caliph as attacks continue in Iraq, Syria

The Islamic State’s third caliph has been killed in southern Syria as Iraqis retain control of the organization amid concerns and confusion about identities, fighter whereabouts and security gaps.

A Saudi soldier mans a turret on a border guards' vehicle as it patrols the fence separating Saudi Arabia and Iraq, in the area around Arar city along the Saudi-Iraq border, March 12, 2017.

Iran-linked militia in Iraq threatens Saudi Arabia as Iraqi PM visits Tehran

Kataib Hezbollah are calling for more attacks on Saudi Arabia amid wrangling over who should protect the country’s borders.

Iraqi Aqeel Hassan, one of the owners of private electric generators.

Iran, Iraq sign $4 billion engineering agreement

The deal comes at a notable time in Iran-Iraq relations, as the Islamic Republic continues to threaten and attack Kurdish groups in Iraq.

Iran Iraq oil

Iran’s oil ministry opens offices in Baghdad, Basra, Kurdistan

Iran is opening offices for its oil ministries in several Iraqi cities to expand cooperation in oil, gas and other energy sectors.

Iraq kurds

Iran's Khamenei tells Iraq to move against Kurdish groups

While Iraq has been unsettled by Iranian strikes on Kurdish groups, Tehran appeared adamant in its demand for their ouster from Iraqi soil.