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Iraq

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Iraq. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Baghdad

Head of State

President Abdul Latif Rashid

Head of Government

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al-Sudani

A US fighter jet takes off to launch what the military says are precision strikes targeting Iranian military capabilities on Saturday. Photo: CENTCOM/AFP

US, Israel war on Iran

Iran says fighting ‘full-scale war’ with US

The Middle East war resumed after a weeks-long lull prompted by an agreement signed in June, and oil prices surged to a month high.

21 Jul 2026 - 3:28AM

US, Israel war on Iran

US military reports another soldier killed in northern Iraq

20 Jul 2026 - 6:46AMvideocam

US, Israel war on Iran

Iran says Strait of Hormuz a ‘red line’, vows to fight till the end

16 Jul 2026 - 8:16PMvideocam

US, Israel war on Iran

US-Iran war: is Trump falling into a Vietnam ‘quagmire’?

Renewed strikes put Washington’s appetite for a prolonged war to a familiar historical test, analysts say.

16 Jul 2026 - 12:40AMvideocam

Screen grab from video footage released by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Sepah News website purportedly shows missiles being launched from an undisclosed location towards US targets in Bahrain and Kuwait on July 14. Photo: AFP

US-China relations

Boko Haram exploited US and Chinese AI chatbots for attacks: Cambridge study

Former fighters say AI helped with bomb-making, planning and propaganda, raising calls for US-China action on terrorist misuse of chatbots.

15 Jul 2026 - 5:52AM

Asian cinema

Review | The President’s Cake: Cannes-winning Iraqi drama is an instant classic

Hasan Hadi’s profound film follows a young Iraqi girl trying to find ingredients for a cake to celebrate Saddam Hussein’s birthday.

14 Jul 2026 - 5:15PMvideocam

United States

US plan to allow Turkey back into F-35 jet scheme faces Israeli opposition

Turkey was ejected from the American F-35 programme in 2019 after it bought Russian air-defence systems.

10 Jul 2026 - 6:33PMvideocam

A US military F-35 fighter jet flies overhead during Independence Day celebrations in Washington on July 4. Photo: AFP

US, Israel war on Iran

Crowds of mourners gather in Tehran for Khamenei funeral procession

Iranians come out to see Ali Khamenei’s flag-draped coffin, and those of his family killed in a February 28 air strike.

6 Jul 2026 - 5:10PM

Middle East

Thousands gather in Iran as Khamenei funeral ceremonies begin

Six days of funeral ceremonies are planned to commemorate Ali Khamenei, who ruled Iran from 1989 until his killing aged 86 on February 28.

4 Jul 2026 - 6:09PM

Middle East

Video | Iranians gather in Tehran ahead of Khamenei’s funeral

While Islamic law requires swift burials, exceptions are made in times of war.

3 Jul 2026 - 7:23PM

01:53

Iran

Iranian leaders pay respects at Khamenei’s coffin as funeral begins

Delayed by months of conflict, Iran prepares to bury its slain supreme leader with a week of mass mourning.

3 Jul 2026 - 10:09PMvideocam

The coffins of Iran’s late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his family members displayed inside Tehran’s Grand Mosalla. Photo: West Asia News Agency via Reuters

US, Israel war on Iran

Gulf states in a bind over Iran’s grip on Hormuz, US troop removal talks

Analysts say GCC members face an uncertain ‘new normal’, prompting them to expand outreach to Tehran for long-term peace.

2 Jul 2026 - 9:47PMvideocam

US, Israel war on Iran

Iran prepares funeral for late supreme leader killed on war’s first day

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s public funeral will begin Saturday as Iran and the US observe a fragile ceasefire.

1 Jul 2026 - 3:16PM

US, Israel war on Iran

14 million barrels of stranded Iraq oil travels through Strait of Hormuz

Meanwhile, US envoys Steve ‌Witkoff and Jared Kushner are in Qatar to discuss the Middle East conflict with mediators.

30 Jun 2026 - 7:48PMvideocam

People walk near an oil field near Basra, Iraq, in March. Photo: Reuters

US, Israel war on Iran

Iran survived 3 months of war. Can it survive the aftermath?

US$270 billion in damage and 4 million citizens plunged into poverty may have broken Iran’s economy.

27 Jun 2026 - 1:41PMvideocam

Smoke and flames rise from the site of US-Israeli airstrikes on an oil depot in Tehran on March 7. Photo: Sasan/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images/TNS

Russia

Disgruntled parents and children force Russia to remove Roblox ban

Moscow banned access to the gaming platform last year, accusing it of promoting ‘LGBT propaganda’.

11 Jun 2026 - 5:53PM

US, Israel war on Iran

‘Immediately stop shooting’: Trump urges Iran and Israel amid tit-for-tat strikes

Fragile April ceasefire collapses as direct tit-for-tat strikes resume on day 100 of the US-Israel war against Iran.

8 Jun 2026 - 7:13PM

US, Israel war on Iran

Tanker hit by explosion near Hormuz hours after US strikes on Iran

The incident, in the Gulf of Oman about 60 nautical miles east of Muscat, was an ‘external explosion’, UKMTO said.

26 May 2026 - 10:16PM

Vessels are anchored off Oman in the the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. Photo: Reuters

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

27 countries seek access to World Bank funds since Iran war

An analyst says nations prefer the World Bank over the International Monetary Fund for help, due to the IMF’s austerity measures.

23 May 2026 - 4:22PM

US-China relations

As I see it | Beijing had already won before the Trump-Xi summit even started

There’s a lesson for the US president in Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in the early 19th century.

15 May 2026 - 8:43PMvideocam

Vietnam

Vietnam asks US to let crucial oil tanker slip past Hormuz blockade

The ship’s destination, Nghi Son, can process 200,000 barrels a day – meaning the 1.99 million barrel load can keep it going for 10 days.

19 May 2026 - 9:20PMvideocam

Agios Fanourios I arrives in Iraq’s territorial waters off Basra for loading on April 17. Photo: Reuters

US, Israel war on Iran

US tells banks to flag suspected Iranian money-laundering networks

Banks are asked to look out for oil labelled ‘Malaysian blend’ to disguise its Iranian origin and missing or falsified shipping documents.

12 May 2026 - 11:04AM

Vessels anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran. Photo: ISNA via AFP

Australia

Australia warns of arrests as 13 people linked to Isis set to return from Syria

The four women and nine children, who had been living in Roj camp in Syria, are expected to land in Sydney and Melbourne on Thursday.

6 May 2026 - 12:52PMvideocam

Middle East

‘Structural shift’: new routes for Middle East freight to bypass Hormuz

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UAE lead a push for a new trade architecture with multiple nodes linking the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea.

3 May 2026 - 10:30AM

US, Israel war on Iran

Why UAE’s exit from Opec is good news for oil-thirsty Asia

Once free of Opec’s production caps, the world’s sixth-largest oil producer plans to flood the market with 5 million barrels a day.

29 Apr 2026 - 11:23AMvideocam

An oil technician climbs down a tower at a refinery in Jebel Ali, UAE. Photo: AP

US, Israel war on Iran

UAE to leave Opec after 6 decades, oil cartel unity questioned

Abu Dhabi, long at odds over quotas, says exit will free output as experts point to Saudi rift and push to boost production.

29 Apr 2026 - 9:11AMvideocam

The United Arab Emirates has announced it will be leaving the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Opec+ from May 1. Photo: EPA

Diplomacy

Opinion | 122 years on, Mackinder’s ‘heartland’ remains geopolitically decisive

Conflicts in Ukraine and Iran have returned strategic focus to the idea of Eurasia as central to the global power contest, challenging the viability of the Indo-Pacific pivot.

27 Apr 2026 - 7:29AMvideocam

War and conflict

Opinion | Blinding the world with lies makes peacemaking an impossible task

From Iran to the Horn of Africa, disinformation is killing diplomacy. Mediators need facts, not state-sponsored fictions.

25 Apr 2026 - 11:00AM

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Iraq

Iran says fighting ‘full-scale war’ with US

The Middle East war resumed after a weeks-long lull prompted by an agreement signed in June, and oil prices surged to a month high.

US military reports another soldier killed in northern Iraq

Iran says Strait of Hormuz a ‘red line’, vows to fight till the end

US-Iran war: is Trump falling into a Vietnam ‘quagmire’?

Renewed strikes put Washington’s appetite for a prolonged war to a familiar historical test, analysts say.

Boko Haram exploited US and Chinese AI chatbots for attacks: Cambridge study

Former fighters say AI helped with bomb-making, planning and propaganda, raising calls for US-China action on terrorist misuse of chatbots.

.css-1f6sr3w{color:#727272;}Review | The President’s Cake: Cannes-winning Iraqi drama is an instant classic

Hasan Hadi’s profound film follows a young Iraqi girl trying to find ingredients for a cake to celebrate Saddam Hussein’s birthday.

US plan to allow Turkey back into F-35 jet scheme faces Israeli opposition

Turkey was ejected from the American F-35 programme in 2019 after it bought Russian air-defence systems.

Crowds of mourners gather in Tehran for Khamenei funeral procession

Iranians come out to see Ali Khamenei’s flag-draped coffin, and those of his family killed in a February 28 air strike.

Thousands gather in Iran as Khamenei funeral ceremonies begin

Six days of funeral ceremonies are planned to commemorate Ali Khamenei, who ruled Iran from 1989 until his killing aged 86 on February 28.

Video | Iranians gather in Tehran ahead of Khamenei’s funeral

While Islamic law requires swift burials, exceptions are made in times of war.

Iranian leaders pay respects at Khamenei’s coffin as funeral begins

Delayed by months of conflict, Iran prepares to bury its slain supreme leader with a week of mass mourning.

Gulf states in a bind over Iran’s grip on Hormuz, US troop removal talks

Analysts say GCC members face an uncertain ‘new normal’, prompting them to expand outreach to Tehran for long-term peace.

Iran prepares funeral for late supreme leader killed on war’s first day

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s public funeral will begin Saturday as Iran and the US observe a fragile ceasefire.

14 million barrels of stranded Iraq oil travels through Strait of Hormuz

Meanwhile, US envoys Steve ‌Witkoff and Jared Kushner are in Qatar to discuss the Middle East conflict with mediators.

Iran survived 3 months of war. Can it survive the aftermath?

US$270 billion in damage and 4 million citizens plunged into poverty may have broken Iran’s economy.

Disgruntled parents and children force Russia to remove Roblox ban

Moscow banned access to the gaming platform last year, accusing it of promoting ‘LGBT propaganda’.

‘Immediately stop shooting’: Trump urges Iran and Israel amid tit-for-tat strikes

Fragile April ceasefire collapses as direct tit-for-tat strikes resume on day 100 of the US-Israel war against Iran.

Tanker hit by explosion near Hormuz hours after US strikes on Iran

The incident, in the Gulf of Oman about 60 nautical miles east of Muscat, was an ‘external explosion’, UKMTO said.

27 countries seek access to World Bank funds since Iran war

An analyst says nations prefer the World Bank over the International Monetary Fund for help, due to the IMF’s austerity measures.

.css-1pcrwvc{color:#2aa191;}As I see it | Beijing had already won before the Trump-Xi summit even started

There’s a lesson for the US president in Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in the early 19th century.

Vietnam asks US to let crucial oil tanker slip past Hormuz blockade

The ship’s destination, Nghi Son, can process 200,000 barrels a day – meaning the 1.99 million barrel load can keep it going for 10 days.

US tells banks to flag suspected Iranian money-laundering networks

Banks are asked to look out for oil labelled ‘Malaysian blend’ to disguise its Iranian origin and missing or falsified shipping documents.

Australia warns of arrests as 13 people linked to Isis set to return from Syria

The four women and nine children, who had been living in Roj camp in Syria, are expected to land in Sydney and Melbourne on Thursday.

‘Structural shift’: new routes for Middle East freight to bypass Hormuz

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UAE lead a push for a new trade architecture with multiple nodes linking the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea.

Why UAE’s exit from Opec is good news for oil-thirsty Asia

Once free of Opec’s production caps, the world’s sixth-largest oil producer plans to flood the market with 5 million barrels a day.

UAE to leave Opec after 6 decades, oil cartel unity questioned

Abu Dhabi, long at odds over quotas, says exit will free output as experts point to Saudi rift and push to boost production.

Opinion | 122 years on, Mackinder’s ‘heartland’ remains geopolitically decisive

Conflicts in Ukraine and Iran have returned strategic focus to the idea of Eurasia as central to the global power contest, challenging the viability of the Indo-Pacific pivot.

Opinion | Blinding the world with lies makes peacemaking an impossible task

From Iran to the Horn of Africa, disinformation is killing diplomacy. Mediators need facts, not state-sponsored fictions.

Review | The President’s Cake: Cannes-winning Iraqi drama is an instant classic

As I see it | Beijing had already won before the Trump-Xi summit even started