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

Iran cover image

Iraq

June 18, 2026

Baghdad 4:47 pm

43°C

Tom Barrack

Exclusive

Barrack heads to Iraq as US presses Baghdad on Iran-backed militias

US envoy Tom Barrack is due to meet with Iraq’s new prime minister and other top officials in Baghdad, where he will likely press US demands for Iran-backed Shiite militias be dismantled and disarmed.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Members of the Iranian national soccer team including midfielder Alireza Jahanbakhsh (R) arrive at Tijuana International Airport on June 7, 2026, in Tijuana, Mexico.

Culture

World Cup opens amid visa disputes for Iran, Iraq and Somalia

Iran says a number of team staff were denied entry into the US, with Trump administration officials touting efforts to prevent affiliates of designated terrorist groups from entering.

Latest News

Syria says Iraqi oil shipments surge as Damascus courts foreign energy investment

A long convoys of Iraqi diesel-laden tanker trucks line up along the highway Tartus-Baniyas highway as they wait to unload their cargo at the Baniyas port refinery on the Mediterranean Sea, on April 15, 2026.

Israel-Iran escalation grounds flights across parts of Middle East

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 Jaunary 12, 2017. - The aircraft arrived as part of an order for 100 other Airbus planes with a list price of around $20 billion (19 billion euros) on December 22, placed after the lifting of international sanctions on the Islamic republic. It will be used for internal flights landed at Tehran's Mehrabad airport. (Photo by ATTA

Culture

10 MENA teams at 2026 World Cup: Morocco eyes title, Iran faces visa hurdles

Morocco's midfielder Azzedine Ounahi celebrates scoring with teammates during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group E African qualification football match between Morocco and Niger at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Rabat on September 5, 2025. (Photo by Abdel Majid BZIOUAT / AFP)

Analysis

Turkey pushes Iraq, Syria trade routes as Hormuz crisis disrupts Gulf shipping

Vessels are seen anchored in the Strait of Hormuz, off the port city of Khasab on Oman's northern Musandam Peninsula, on May 17, 2026.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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

Staff members at the 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 Baghdad, Iraq, Aug. 3, 2021.

Norway police seize nearly 100 artifacts reportedly missing from Iraq

The cuneiform tablets and other artifacts were reportedly recovered from a private collection in Norway.

Iraqi Yazidi children ride bicycles as elderly women sit on a ramp in the town of Sheikhan, some 50km northeast of Mosul, on July 15, 2021.

Threatened Yazidi interpreters in Iraq say Afghan evacuation a wake-up call

Former Iraqi interpreters already hunted because of their faith say the rush to rescue wartime allies from Taliban-run Afghanistan should serve as a cautionary tale.

An Iraqi woman updates her voter registration at the Independent High Electoral Commission Center in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah in the Dhi Qar province on Jan. 12, 2021.

International observers prepare for Iraq's elections

Hundreds of international observers are gearing up for the legislative elections in Iraq on Oct. 10 in an attempt to help Iraqis conduct transparent and fair elections.

Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan (L) shakes hands with Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan before a meeting in Ankara on Feb. 28, 2012.

Iraqi Kurdish leader helps ease Turkey-UAE tensions

Iraqi Kurdistan President Nechirvan Barzani helped facilitate a recent phone call between Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images

Taliban victory inspires pro-Iran militias in Iraq

The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan has encouraged Sunni extremist armed groups in Syria and pro-Iran Shiite militias in Iraq.

(L to R) Qatars Emir Sheikh Tamim al-Thani, French President Emmanuel Macron, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, Iraq's Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, and Jordan's King Abdullah II pose for a group picture after the meeting in Baghdad on Aug. 28, 2021.

Baghdad conference to establish cooperation, partnership in region

Baghdad Conference stressed the neccessity of supporting Iraq, providing a great boost to the Iraqi government.

French President Emmanuel Macron (C-R) tours the Our Lady of the Hour Church in Iraq's second city of Mosul, in the northern Nineveh province, on Aug. 29, 2021.

Macron visits Erbil and Mosul, vows to stay the course against IS

The French president visited the northern Iraqi city where an Islamic State ‘caliphate’ was declared in 2014, pledging to continue supporting Iraq in its fight against terrorism.

Sadr backers march

Muqtada al-Sadr reverses decision to stay out of Iraqi elections

After his withdrawal from October elections due to public anger against the ministers of health and electricity — both loyal Sadrist officials — the head of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, decides to participate in the vote after all.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi leaves Downing Street after a meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Oct. 22, 2020 in London, England.

Baghdad Conference showcases Iraq's new role as mediator in region

Iraq is hosting a regional conference, bringing Iraqi neighboring countries together to support Iraq ahead of early elections.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Syria celebrates Taliban's declared "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan"

Are Syrian jihadis ready to take the fight to Afghanistan?

Afghanistan revives terror challenges for Washington; Russia anticipates security vacuum; Erdogan senses an opportunity.

Aug. 27 march backing Sadr

Iraq's Muqtada al-Sadr announces support for elections

Sadr's announcement comes a month after he called on his supporters to boycott the October elections.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Iran's new foreign minister visits Baghdad for regional summit

The summit is the latest effort by Iraq to reduce tensions between Iran and its Sunni Arab neighbors.