Iraq

Iraq delays July public salaries as Strait of Hormuz blockade guts oil revenue

Iraq’s oil exports plunged from 100 million barrels in February to around 32 million in May and June, according to figures shown to The National by the country’s Oil Ministry.

Shia Muslims gather along the Bayn al-Haramayn or "between the two sanctuaries", a 378-meter open marble-paved avenue linking the Imam Hussein Shrine and Imam al-Abbas Shrine, in the city of Karbala on August 4, 2026.
Fighters with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) walk for a disarmament ceremony marking a significant step toward ending the decades-long conflict between Turkey and the outlawed group, in the Qandil mountains, Iraq October 26, 2025.

Turkey to submit draft law allowing thousands of former PKK members to return, aims to end conflict

Cars and coaches line up at al-Tanf crossing on the border between Iraq and Syria, some 300 km southeast of Damascus March 20, 2003. Border traffic remained normal after the start of a U.S.-led attack on Iraq at dawn on Thursday, despite fears that there would be an influx of refugees.

Syrian military raises alert level amid movements near Iraqi border

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa during a bilateral meeting alongside the NATO leaders summit in Ankara, last month.

Trump’s Syria-Iraq pipeline plan aims to weaken Iran’s leverage - opinion


Trump consolidates Middle East policy by appointing Special Envoy Barrack to Iraq, Syria - analysis

US Envoy Tom Barrack has played a key role in US policy in the Middle East over the past year. He was appointed Special Envoy to Syria last year. He is also the US Ambassador to Turkey.

 US ambassador to Turkey Thomas Barrack attends a meeting with US President Donald Trump and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Oval Office at the White House on September 25, 2025 in Washington.

Iran relentlessly targets Kurdish opposition in northern Iraq despite regional ceasefire - analysis

The attacks illustrate how Iran is seeking to keep up the pressure on Kurdish opposition groups. Many of these groups have forces and bases in the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq.

A member of Komala of the Toilers of Kurdistan stands while holding a machine gun at a mountain base in Khalifan near Erbil, Iraq's Kurdistan region, on March 12, 2026.

After years-long drought where Syria, Iraq were running out of water, dams are now full - analysis

Now, Syria is saying water levels have stabilized. Nevertheless, the flooding and the change in water flows show that the region is not on a one-way street to drought.

Fishermen ride in their boat through the Iraqi Hawizeh Marsh in Maysan province, southern Iraq, after water returned due to rainfall following a long period of drought on April 26, 2026.

Iraqi-based Iranian-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah offers to ‘buy’ weapons from other militias

Kataib Hezbollah is sanctioned by the US as a terrorist group and is behind numerous killings and kidnappings; now it wants even more weapons.

Fighters lift flags of Iraq and paramilitary groups, including al-Nujaba and Kataib Hezbollah, during a funeral in Baghdad for five militants killed a day earlier in a US strike in northern Iraq, on December 4, 2023.

Are Iranian-backed militias in Iraq really ready to hand over weapons? - analysis

A Kataib Hezbollah spokesperson said he “praised what he described as a decision by ‘[armed] brothers not involved in the Islamic Resistance [of Iraq]’ to end their armed activities."

Members of the Iraqi armed group Kataib Hezbollah attend the funeral of their members, who were killed in an airstrike that targeted a Hashd al‑Shaabi headquarters near the western al‑Qaim district on the Syrian border, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Baghdad, Iraq, March 2, 2026.

Iranian regime operative who directed wave of Ashab al-Yamin attacks on Jewish targets indicted

Originally indicted with six counts in a complaint on May 15, the Iraqi and Iranian national was charged on Thursday with conspiring to provide material support to Kataib Hezbollah and the IRGC.

MOHAMMAD BAQER Saad Dawood Al-Saadi standing in front of an array of machineguns in a conference room.

Iraqi Prime Minister urges armed factions to disarm and join state institutions

Newly elected Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi urged armed factions in the country to work “under the umbrella of the state and its official institutions.” 

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi delivers a televised address after assuming office, in Baghdad, Iraq May 16, 2026.

Iraq at a crossroads over militias, as senior commander is killed in car bombing - analysis

A senior commander from Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed faction, was killed and his aide seriously wounded on Thursday when an explosive device detonated in their vehicle.

Fighters of the Ansar Allah al-Awfiya (Loyal Supporters of God) Shiite group parade with their weapons on June 16, 2015 in the southern Iraqi city of Basra during celebrations.

Kurds continue to be under fire even amid ceasefire, fear new deal may not stop Iranian attacks

The new talk of a possible deal that might involve Iran and the US could lead to pressuring Iraq's central government to rein in Iranian-backed militias.

A fighter from the Iranian Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) takes part in a training exercise at a base near Erbil, Iraq, in February.

Voices from the Arab press: Gulf tensions over Iran deepen regional fears

A weekly selection of opinions and analyses from the Arab media around the world.

US President Donald Trump attends a GCC summit photo session in Riyadh, alongside Qatari, Saudi, and  Bahraini leaders, May 2025.