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

Iran cover image

Iraq

August 17, 2026

Baghdad 7:01 am

31°C

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

Kurdistan guns

Kurdistan Region pursues gun control after deadly shootings

The autonomous government in northern Iraq has an ambitious plan to curb gun violence, but some in the region have concerns about the feasibility of gun control due to societal and political factors.

Iran nuclear

Analysis

Iran’s long shadow from Vienna to Baghdad and beyond

More may be riding on the JCPOA talks than just the fate of Iran’s nuclear program.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

Iraq Sadr

Sadr so far cool to UN mediation to break Iraqi political deadlock

United Nations special representative Jeanine Plasschaert met with Muqtada al-Sadr in Najaf, but so far there are no signs of a compromise.

Supporters of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr gather outside the Iraqi parliament in the Green Zone in the capital Baghdad, on the seventh day of protests against the nomination of a rival Shiite faction for the position of prime minister in the heavily-guarded Green Zone, on Aug. 5, 2022.

Iraqi Kurds and Sunnis fear intra-Shiite conflict could spiral to other communities

Sunnis and Kurds in Iraq are wary that if unresolved, the fighting among Shiite factions could spill over into their regions.

Supporters of Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr wave flags as they occupy the Iraqi parliament for a sixth consecutive day, in protest at a nomination for prime minister by a rival Shiite faction, Green Zone, Baghdad, Iraq, Aug. 4, 2022.

Muqtada al-Sadr complicates Iranian moves in Iraq

Iranians from different sides look at Iraq's Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s recent move with suspicion.

SAFIN HAMED/AFP via Getty Images

Iranian influence turns PKK-weakened Kurdistan into regional battleground

Vehicles allegedly carrying Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) commanders continue to be targeted in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq amid claims Iran controls both the PKK and Shiite-led forces in oil-rich and disputed Kirkuk.

Iraq Sadr

Iraqi government initiates dialogue to end national crisis

Iraqi and international leaders are responding positively to the prime minister's call fior national dialogue among the various political parties.

Kabul

Taliban on edge after US kills al-Qaeda chief in upscale Kabul neighborhood

The US and the Taliban traded accusations of violating a key 2020 accord after Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed by a US drone attack in a part of the Afghan capital long known for its ostentatious villas.

Supporters of Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, protesting against a rival bloc's nomination for prime minister, gather inside the parliament building a day after storming it, Green Zone, Baghdad, Iraq, July 31, 2022.

Rival Shiite forces flex muscles in two protests in Baghdad

Speaker of the Iraqi parliament Mohammed al-Halbusi suspended parliament in response to Sadrist protesters who have occupied the Green Zone, closing down for now the prospects of a government formation.

A member of Iraq's Hashid Shaabi paramilitary force looks on while standing along a runway at the heavily damaged airport of the northern city of Mosul.

Iraq starts rebuilding Mosul airport

Determined to complete the delayed Mosul airport reconstruction project, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi is granting the project special exceptions to shield it from corruption and complex administrative procedures.

Exterior of Iraq's Council of Representatives, the country's unicameral legislature, in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone.

Iraqi Sadrist protesters storm parliament

Sadrist protesters stormed parliament today, rejecting the formation of the government under the premiership of Muhammad Shia Sudani, who was nominated recently by a rival Shia colaition.

An Iraqi police vehicle secures the area of the Turkish Consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

Turkey, Iraq, Kurds seek leverage from tourist massacre

Ankara continues to deny responsibility for shelling that killed tourists in Iraqi Kurdistan.