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

Iran cover image

Iraq

August 17, 2026

Baghdad 4:48 pm

44°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

A photo taken on June 10, 2021, shows traffic at the entrance to Baghdad International Airport.

Baghdad airport hit with rockets, no one hurt

No group has claimed credit for the latest attack.

Female members of the Syrian Democratic Forces deploy outside Ghwayran prison in Syria's northeastern city of Hasakeh on January 26, 2022.

Syrian prison battle leaves hundreds dead and many IS free

A massive attack on detention facilities in northeastern Syria under US-backed, Kurdish-led forces has ended after almost a week of fighting, though the fate of some hostages remains unclear.

This picture taken on Sept. 26, 2021 shows an electoral campaign billboard ahead of Iraq's early legislative elections, depicting current parliament speaker Mohamed al-Halbousi, along the side of a road in the city of Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's central Anbar Governorate.

Iraqi parliament speaker’s home targeted amid power plays

At least three rockets landed near a residence of the Iraqi parliament speaker in his native Anbar region on Tuesday as political wrangling, disappearances and threats from Iran-linked militias continue.

Iraq Halbousi

Iraqi Federal Court rejects appeal to nullify selection of parliament speaker

The selection of parliament speaker has been upheld as the federal court rejected the request of the Coordination Framework to cancel the process.

A picture taken Oct. 26, 2021, shows the Darbandikhan Dam after the water level had fallen by 7.5 meters in one year, in northeastern Iraq.

Iran, Iraq exchange accusations over water flow

Iraq is planning to complain to the International Court of Justice about the drop in water flow from Iran.

Mourners carry the casket of one of eleven Iraqi soldiers, killed in an overnight attack by the Islamic State (IS) group against a base in eastern Iraq, through a street in the central holy shrine city of Najaf, on Jan. 21, 2022.

Islamic State escalates violence across Baghdad Belt

Terrorist attacks increase as Iraq continues government formation process.

Diyala funeral

Islamic State wipes out entire army outpost in Iraq’s Diyala

The latest major Islamic State attack in Iraq left 11 dead, including soldiers and their commanding officer, at an army outpost in a restive area northeast of Baghdad.

Members of the PKK are pictured during a peaceful protest against ongoing attacks against Yazidis in northern Iraq, on Aug. 16, 2014, in Hanover, Germany.

Iraqi army boots PKK-linked leader’s statue from Sinjar, arrests fighters

The Iraqi army has arrested several fighters from a PKK-linked Yazidi faction operating in Sinjar as part of an attempt to get them to abide by an accord signed in 2020 for greater stability and security.

Iraqi women ready to board a coach, part of a convoy, heading south of the Iraqi city of Karbala some 120 kilometers (74 miles) from the capital Baghdad, toward the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca, Nov. 22, 2008.

Iraq moves forward with building pilgrim route to Saudi Arabia

The Iraqi government is showing interest in completing the pilgrim route linking Iraq and Saudi Arabia, which will facilitate the arrival of religious visitor convoys between the two countries and will enhance trade and political relations.

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Islamic State stages Syria prison break, kills 11 soldiers in Iraq

The Islamic State attacked an Iraqi army barracks and a prison holding jihadists in Kurdish-run northeast Syria overnight.

Hasakah prison

Prison housing Iraqi, Syrian IS inmates attacked in Syria

Detention facilities under US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces were hit by a major attack attempting to free the thousands within.

Iraqis play at the snow-covered Safin Mountain on Jan. 18, 2022, near the city of Erbil, the capital of Iraq's northern Kurdish autonomous region.

Rare snowstorm hits Iraq and Syria

Many people in the Kurdistan Region rejoiced while playing in the snow, but such conditions can be dangerous for others, especially those living in displaced people camps.