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Iraq

February 17, 2026

Baghdad 11:55 am

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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

Members of the Popular Mobilization Units wave the faction flag during a symbolic funeral ceremony in the central holy city of Karbala, on the anniversary of the airstrikes by US planes on several bases belonging to the Hezbollah brigades near al-Qaim, Iraq, Dec. 29, 2020.

Kataib Hezbollah controls access points to key Iraqi border city

Iran-linked armed groups have over the past year tightened and consolidated their grip on a key border area between Iraq and Syria, preventing journalists from entering and local residents from farming their land.

SABAH ARAR/AFP via Getty Images

Car bomb kills four in Baghdad

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which police say also destroyed five cars and wounded 17 people.

Habbaniyah displacement camp

Iraq to shutter displacement camps

Iraq is working on closing all displacement camps this year and to return the displaced people to their homelands.

Dhi Qar protest

Iraq’s new political parties seek funds from citizens

New parties have an uphill battle to compete in Iraq's political system.

Medical staff are pictured outside the American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon, March 17, 2021.

More Lebanese doctors leave for Iraq

As Lebanon is sinking deeper into an unprecedented financial and political crisis, many medical doctors are increasingly packing their bags and leaving for the Gulf or Europe, and more recently for Iraq.

Medical staff handle an empty vial of the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 at a vaccination center at the Messe trade fair grounds during the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic on April 8, 2021 in Erfurt, Germany.

Iraq's Kurdistan region sticks with AstraZeneca vaccine, reports no issues

Kurdish authorities say they will continue administering the vaccine following the European Union's conclusion that blood clots should be listed among "rare side effects" of the British-Swedish vaccine.

Kadhimi and Maktoum

Kadhimi deepens cooperation with Saudi Arabia, UAE in Gulf tour

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi is pursuing two-track diplomacy, expanding cooperation with both Levant and Gulf countries.

Iraqi-US strategic dialogue

Where will new round of strategic talks with US take Iraq?

Iraq and US agreed on shifting the anti-IS coalition to training and support only, working on ending the presence of any combat forces.

Iraqis stand outside the parliament building, or Council of Representatives, in Baghdad's Green Zone on Feb. 27, 2020.

Iraq passes $89 billion federal budget bill

The budget confronted issues of unemployment, currency devaluation and non-oil revenues and was passed as lawmakers prepare for October's general election; the challenge is implementation.

US soldiers load cargo into planes during a logistical operation to clear equipment and heavy machinery from the Balad military base, north of Baghdad, on Aug. 27, 2010 a week before the US military is due to end its combat mission in the country.

Rockets land near Iraqi air base ahead of strategic dialogue with US

No one was hurt in the latest barrage, an Iraqi military official said

An Iraqi woman stands at passport control as she waits to have her passport stamped at the Arar southern Iraqi border crossing with Saudi Arabia on November 11, 2009.

Iraqi prime minister makes first visit to Saudi Arabia

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi made his first visit to Saudi Arabia in an effort to enhance ties between the two countries.

Iraqi protesters take part in a demonstration at Tahrir Square in Baghdad on December 21, 2020.

Despite Baghdad-Erbil agreement, Iraq fails to pass federal budget bill

Disagreements over the dollar exchange rate and foreign loans have blocked the parliament from passing the country's budget bill for a fifth time.