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Iraq

February 16, 2026

Baghdad 11:44 pm

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Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki delivers a speech during a campaign rally for the State of Law Coalition ahead of the country's parliamentary elections in Baghdad on Nov. 7, 2025.

Analysis

Can Maliki overcome Trump opposition to reclaim Iraq’s PM post?

US President Donald Trump’s opposition to the former prime minister and reports of potential retribution toward Iraq are receiving pushback in the country, which is already suffering from political paralysis.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

SDF commander in chief, Mazlum Kobane, meets with Nechirvan Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, on Feb. 5, 2026.

Exclusive

100 non-Syrian Kurds return to PKK’s Qandil stronghold under SDF-Damascus deal

The transfer of non-Syrian PKK fighters to Iraq’s Qandil Mountains follows a US-brokered SDF-Damascus deal aimed at easing tensions and preserving Kurdish forces under national army oversight.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki speaks during a press conference on May 11, 2011, at the green zone area in Baghdad, Iraq.

Iraq’s Maliki rejects Trump criticism, vows to stay in PM race

Maliki refused to withdraw from the race, despite mounting pressure from the US, and expressed a desire for good relations with Iraq’s neighbors and Washington.

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on Feb. 13, 2025.

How US-India trade deal could impact Mideast energy, trade routes

The United States and India struck a trade agreement on Monday that eases months of tension between the two countries and could influence Gulf oil flows and economic integration.

Latest News

Iraq's Shiite bloc holds talks with Kurds as deadlock on president, PM persists

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani meets the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani, in Erbil on Monday.

Iraqi militias claim volunteers readying to defend Iran from US: What to know

Men sign up to join the "martyrdom brigades" under the umbrella of Iraq's pro-Iran paramilitary group Hezbollah Brigades (Kataib Hezbollah), who called upon Iraqis to volunteer in fighting alongside Iran in the event of a full-scale war with the US and Israel, at a mosque in Baghdad on January 29, 2026. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

After Trump’s rebuke, can Maliki rebound in Iraq, or does Sudani become favorite?

(L to R) Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid; Qais al-Khazali, head of the "Asaib Ahl al-Haq"; one of the member factions of the Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) paramilitaries; Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani; and former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki attend an event commemorating the 21st anniversary of the group's creation at a hotel in Baghdad on May 3, 2024.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

‘Very bad choice’: Trump threatens to cut Iraq aid if Maliki returns as PM

Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki leaves after casting his ballot at a polling station in Baghdad on Nov. 11, 2025 during Iraq's parliamentary elections.

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

An Iraqi municipal worker fixes the cables of an overhead power line in al-Zahraa neighborhood in Mosul, during an ongoing military operation against the Islamic State, Iraq, Jan. 11, 2017.

Electrical towers again become targets in Iraq

Iraq's transmission towers are increasingly the target of bombings.

slain Karbala mayor

Iraq moves to protect state property

The Iraqi government launched a campaign to remove encroachments in Iraq, which is more likely to anger political parties and armed groups whose huge influence has allowed their supporters to encroach on state-owned land.

Staff members at Iraq's Ministry of Foreign Affairs work around crates of looted Iraqi antiquities returned by the United States, ahead of a handover ceremony at the ministry in the capital Baghdad, on Aug. 3, 2021.

Iraq recovers thousands of smuggled artifacts for national museum

The visit of the Iraqi prime minister to Washington led to the recovery of thousands of smuggled artifacts, including the Assyrian Gilgamesh tablet, leading the premier to announce the reopening of the Iraqi National Museum.

Qubad Talabani, deputy prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Family feud in Iraqi Kurdish party may undercut election chances

A dispute between the son of the founder of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the party's former leader, and his cousin might reduce the chances of victory in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Mohammed al-Halbusi (L), newly elected speaker of the Iraqi parliament, delivers a speech Sept. 18, 2018, following a meeting in Basra.

Feud between Iraqi Sunni leaders could undercut bloc ahead of elections

Speaker of parliament and leader of the Advancement alliance Mohammed al-Halbusi has accused the leader of al-Azm alliance, Khamis al-Khanjar, of selling Sunni land.

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Violence down in Syria’s al-Hol camp but conditions remain 'horrifying'

The Islamic State has been smuggling boys out of displacement camps to train in the Syrian desert.

Members of the Cabinet of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) headed by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani pose for a photograph in Erbil.

Family power grab in Iraqi Kurdistan raises fears of intra-Kurdish violence

Talabanis strip their cousin of all powers amid a power struggle in the Kurdistan Regional Government's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Party.

In this picture taken on July 15, 2021, an Afghan militia fighter keeps a watch at an outpost against Taliban insurgents at Charkint district in Balkh Province.

Taliban victory in Afghanistan could inspire terrorists, armed groups throughout Middle East

There are increasing reports of foreign jihadist fighters in Afghanistan.

A nurse stands by the CIRA-03 robot prototype built as part of a self-funded project to assist physicians in running tests on suspected COVID-19 coronavirus patients.

Middle East economic outlook hinges on vaccinations

Five countries to watch: Tunisia, Iran, Iraq, Egypt and Oman.

US President Joe Biden (R) hosts Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi for a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office at the White House, Washington, July 26, 2021.

Iraq-US strategic dialogue divides anti-US groups in Iraq

The recent strategic dialogue talks between Iraq and the United States have divided anti-US groups in Iraq, as some welcome the results of the dialogue and others reject it and ask for full US withdrawal from Iraq.

A woman looks on at the waste dump of Diwaniyah where families live in the rubbish with no electricity or drinking water, on March 25, 2018.

Iraqi Kurdistan water crisis blamed on climate and Iran

Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government has asked citizens to ration water.

An Iraqi medic picks an oxygen bottle for a COVID-19 patient at a hospital in the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk.

Iraq faces a new wave of COVID-19 cases amid great challenges

The Iraqi Ministry of Health worries that too many Iraqis are disregarding public health guidance and refusing to get vaccinated.