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Iraq

July 13, 2025

Baghdad 1:00 pm

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THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS - JUNE 25: U.S. President Donald Trump (R) speaks with President of the Republic of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L), as they arrive for the North Atlantic Council Plenary Session on the second day of the 2025 NATO Summit on June 25, 2025 in The Hague, Netherlands. Among other matters, members are to approve a new defense investment plan that raises the target for defense spending to 5% of GDP. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Analysis

From Caucasus to Iraq: How Israel’s war hands Turkey edge over Iran

After the war with Israel, a wounded Iran opens new doors for Turkey from Iraq to the Caucasus, but advancing its agenda could rekindle their rivalry.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

US President Donald Trump holds up a chart while speaking during a “Make America Wealthy Again” trade announcement event in the Rose Garden at the White House on April 2, 2025, in Washington.

From Iraq to Algeria, Trump’s looming tariffs could target 4 MENA countries

The United States has a trade deficit with Iraq, Algeria, Libya and Tunisia, according to the US government, prompting the president to send them letters warning of new tariffs.

An Iraqi Kurdish man holds a flag with the portrait of jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan during a demonstration in the northern Iraqi Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah on Oct. 10, 2019 against the Turkish offensive in northeastern Syria.

Turkey's spy chief heads for Iraq as PKK militants prepare to disarm

The planned weapons handover marks a major step in Turkey’s quiet bid to end the PKK’s decades-long insurgency and secure Kurdish political support for constitutional reform.

An Iraqi boy catches fish in the Tigris River in central Baghdad as the sun sets, on April 15, 2025.

Turkey gives drought-stricken Iraq more water in boost to PM Sudani

The agreement is expected to ease tensions and advance a joint infrastructure project linking Iraq’s Faw port to Turkey.

Latest News

Exclusive

US Syria envoy Barrack to meet Iraqi Kurdish PM Barzani in Erbil

CEO of Colony Capital Tom Barrack speaks during the Republican National Convention at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio on July 21, 2016.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Pentagon slashes budget request for Iraq counter-ISIS funds: What to know

A military parade held by Iraq's army, Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation Forces), and the Police force drives on a highway during a ceremony marking the anniversary of the defeat of the Islamic State (IS) group, in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on December 10, 2024. Iraq declared victory over fighters from the IS group at the end of 2017 after a three-year battle in which the jihadists had seized large swathes of the country. But jihadist cells still launch sporadic attacks against the army and poli

Iraq orders investigation after attacks on Taji, Imam Ali bases: What to know

Iraqi Air Force helicopters perform during Army Day celebrations, marking the 104th anniversary of the founding of the Iraqi army, at the Camp Taji military base north Baghdad, on January 6, 2025. The Iraqi armed forces were established by the United Kingdom during their mandate over Iraq after World War I. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

From Lebanon to Qatar, Israel-Iran war disrupts flights, airport traffic: What to know

Ground staff prepare a Middle East Airlines flight for departure on the tarmac at Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut on May 2, 2025.

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jared Szuba

Pentagon Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Andrew Parasiliti

President and Chief Content Officer

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, national security

Suadad al-Salhy

In Baghdad, reporting on politics and security

Lyse Mauvais

In Amman, reporting on humanitarian crises

Two bank employees count dollars and Iraqi dinars in Baghdad on Sept. 28, 2000.

Why Iraq's dinar is trading below official dollar rate amid new restrictions

A top US official visited Iraqi officials last week to discuss countering illicit finance and strengthening Iraq’s financial system.

Jared Elizabeth US-Iran proxy webinar

US confrontation with Iran’s proxies: Live Q&A with Jared Szuba and Elizabeth Hagedorn

Fighters lift flags of Iraq and paramilitary groups, including al-Nujaba and Kataib Hezbollah.

Analysis

Why did Kataib Hezbollah suspend attacks on US forces in Iraq?

The Iraqi militia’s announcement was the result of Iranian influence and Iraqi political developments, analysts say, ahead of a looming US military response to the killing of American soldiers in Jordan.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

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

A man lifts a placard depicting slain Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani (L) and Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, as fighters bearing flags of Iraq and paramilitary groups, including al-Nujaba and Kataib Hezbollah, march during a funeral in Baghdad for five militants killed a day earlier in a US strike in northern Iraq, on December 4, 2023. Dozens of mourners gathered on December 4 for the funeral of the five militants killed the previous day near Kirkuk in what a US military official described as a "s

Breaking | Last Updated: January 31, 2024, 8:12 am

Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah announces suspension of attacks against US forces

The decision follows a deadly strike on US forces in Jordan and ahead of anticipated retaliation by Washington.

A soldier loads up onto an American plane near Mosul, Iraq.

US, Iraq to begin talks over potential end to coalition presence

There have been no decisions to withdraw US troops from either Iraq or Syria, US officials say, but the Biden administration is open to weighing future options.

A member of Iraq's Special Operations Forces stands guard during the funeral of Hassan Hammadi al-Amiri, a fallen member of the group Kataib Hezbollah.

Iraq slams latest US airstrikes on Kataib Hezbollah sites

Latest strikes put new pressure on Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani over the US troop presence in Iraq.

(L-R) Bloomberg Television's journalist Francine Lacqua, Singapore's President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan, President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Christine Lagarde, Co-chairman of the private equity firm of The Carlyle Group David Rubenstein, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner and World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala attend a session on the closing day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, on January 19,

Analysis

From Davos, all roads lead to the Middle East

At the World Economic Forum, Al-Monitor interviewed regional decision-makers on economics, energy, environment, governance and conflict across the region.

Week in Review

Andrew Parasiliti

By Week in Review , Andrew Parasiliti

FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images

Iraq, KRG leaders cancel meetings with Iran's FM at Davos over missile row

Tensions between Baghdad and Tehran have flared since the Monday attack, which Tehran claimed targeted an Israeli "spy cell" in the city.

Protesters hold a banner and Kurdish flags during a demonstration outside the United Nations (UN) office, a day after several areas in the city were hit by a missile attack launched by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's northern autonomous Kurdish region early on Jan. 16, 2024.

How Iran chose easy targets in Iraq's Erbil to avoid Israeli reprisal

As the Islamic Republic and its hardcore loyalists chanted in triumph, debates heated up as to whether the attack was meant only for domestic propaganda and flexing about a promised "revenge" that seemed to have been exacted on the wrong, easy target.

SAFIN HAMID/AFP via Getty Images

Who is Peshraw Dizayee, Kurdish-Iraqi businessman killed in Iran's attack?

Iran claimed it targeted “spy bases” belonging to Israel’s spy agency in northern Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, but several civilians were also killed in the strike.

Two Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) armed military personnel are monitoring an area while standing guard next to an Iranian Majid anti-aircraft missile system during the Ela Beit Al-Moghaddas (Al-Aqsa Mosque) military rally in Tehran, Iran.

Breaking | Last Updated: January 16, 2024, 8:18 am

Iran’s IRGC strikes 'spy centers' in Iraq with ballistic missiles

The IRGC also said it struck Syria in response to the recent ISIS attack in Iran.

Iraqi teachers and civil servants protest on Oct. 7, 2015 in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's Kurdistan region.

In Iraq's Kurdistan Region, teacher strikes highlight schooling crisis

The regional government is three months behind on paying its public servants, including teachers, as part of larger budget disagreements with Iraq’s federal government.