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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

Taliban soldiers celebrate on the second anniversary of the fall of Kabul on a street near the US embassy in August 2023. Photo: Reuters

Russia

Russia becomes first country to recognise Taliban government of Afghanistan

The Taliban government had seized power in August 2021 as US-led forces staged a chaotic withdrawal from the country after 20 years of war.

4 Jul 2025 - 2:47PMvideocam

China's military weapons

Video teases new Chinese blackout bomb that can knock out enemy power stations

30 Jun 2025 - 2:35PMvideocam

Israel-Iran conflict

How Israel-Iran war sent ripples of fear through the global maritime trade

30 Jun 2025 - 8:45AM

War and conflict

Opinion | US bombing of Iran risks a breakdown of nuclear governance

By using Iran’s nuclear programme as a pretext for war, American and Israeli leaders have eroded trust in the global nuclear domain.

27 Jun 2025 - 5:30AMvideocam

The Philippines

Will Philippines help US in another Middle East conflict?

With the US embroiled in the Israel-Iran war, there is speculation over whether Manila would help Washington, like it did in the Iraq War.

25 Jun 2025 - 6:11PMvideocam

War and conflict

Opinion | Why blocking the Strait of Hormuz is a recipe for disaster

With its ruinous consequences and difficulty in execution, a full blockade is unlikely. But the risks of miscalculation must not be ignored.

25 Jun 2025 - 8:54AMvideocam

Iran

Letters | Americans must speak up against Trump’s Iran strike

Readers discuss military action against Iran, who Australia needs to be protected against, and family-friendly policies.

24 Jun 2025 - 5:35PM

US President Donald Trump delivers an address to the nation alongside Vice-President J.D. Vance, State Secretary Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the White House on June 21, following US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Photo: Reuters

Israel-Iran conflict

Trump tries to salvage ceasefire after rebuking Israel and Iran over violations

US president says both sides have violated ceasefire meant to bring an end to what he has branded the ‘12 Day War’.

24 Jun 2025 - 11:58PM

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War and conflict

Opinion | Has Trump started another forever war? Not if Americans can help it

As the US ramps up aggression against Iran, fears of another full-scale invasion in the Middle East abound. Thankfully, all hope is not lost.

23 Jun 2025 - 10:30PMvideocam

US-China relations

China hits out at US and Israel, calls for de-escalation of conflict with Iran

Chinese ambassador tells emergency UN Security Council meeting that Washington has violated Iranian sovereignty and ‘exacerbated tensions’.

23 Jun 2025 - 10:37AMvideocam

Fu Cong, China’s ambassador to the UN, told a Security Council meeting on Sunday that the US had “dealt a heavy blow to the international nuclear non-proliferation regime”. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

Middle East

US bases in the Middle East under threat as Iran vows retaliation

The US has thousands of troops deployed on bases across the Middle East - and Iran says they could be legitimate targets.

23 Jun 2025 - 11:16AM

US President Donald Trump during a visit to Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar on May 15. Photo: Reuters

Middle East

Iraq’s Dukan reservoir drops to 20-year low, forcing rationing

Dwindling rains and damming upstream by Iran and Turkey have forced strict water rationing for 4 million Iraqis.

21 Jun 2025 - 5:30PM

Israel-Iran conflict

Opinion | Flying into the storm: how Middle East conflict reshapes global air routes

The airline industry has been re-routing routes and avoiding conflict zones in the Middle East while keeping an eye on rising costs.

21 Jun 2025 - 10:00AMvideocam

Israel-Iran conflict

If Iran’s Khamenei falls, what would replace him?

Iranian opposition is divided and there is no guarantee new rulers would be any less hardline, analysts say.

19 Jun 2025 - 10:41PMvideocam

A protester in Baghdad, Iraq holds a portrait of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a Wednesday protest against Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran. Photo: AP

Israel-Iran conflict

US strike threat against Iran exposes deep Maga rift for Trump

Maga supporters fear US involvement in a new Middle East war, but Trump says his backers ‘are more in love with me today’.

19 Jun 2025 - 11:24PMvideocam

US President Donald Trump’s war talk is testing his ties with Maga loyalists. Photo: Reuters

Defence

Will US actively join Israel against Iran? Pentagon chief stays mum

Defence secretary tells lawmakers his job is to ‘make sure the president has options’ as Democrats fret about China threat in Indo-Pacific.

19 Jun 2025 - 9:11PMvideocam

Israel-Iran conflict

Another Iraq? Fears mount of US joining Israel-Iran war

As Israel’s attacks and incendiary rhetoric intensify, chilling parallels emerge to the discredited claims made before US invasion of Iraq.

19 Jun 2025 - 11:48AMvideocam

Hong Kong society

19 Hongkongers in Israel, Iran and Jordan contact authorities amid conflict

Residents reach out to Immigration Department, while travel sector representative reports no Hong Kong tour groups in those countries.

18 Jun 2025 - 11:18AM

Smoke rises from an oil storage facility after it appeared to have been struck by an Israeli strike on Saturday, in Tehran, Iran, on Monday. Photo: AP

Donald Trump

Trump suggests Iran, Israel need ‘to fight it out’ to reach a deal

US president also said the United States ‘could get involved’ in the Iran-Israel conflict.

16 Jun 2025 - 9:59AM

Israel-Gaza war

Iran tells mediators it will not negotiate ‘while under attack’: official

Israel and Iran continue to trade attacks, raising fears of a bigger conflict.

16 Jun 2025 - 4:20PM

Middle East

US pulling some personnel from Middle East as Iran tensions rise

Tensions in the region have been rising as US-Iran nuclear talks appear to have hit an impasse.

12 Jun 2025 - 3:11PM

The US embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. File photo: Reuters

Germany

Man drives into crowd in Germany, injuring own wife, daughter and 3 others

Police suspect the driver, a 48-year-old Iraqi national, may have been involved in a child custody dispute.

8 Jun 2025 - 3:39AM

A damaged car is photographed after a man drove into a group of people in Passau, Germany, on Saturday. Photo: dpa

Middle East

Opec+ agrees on sharp increase in July oil production to deepen price slump

The organisation will raise output by 411,000 barrels a day for the third month in a row, as it doubles down on policy shift.

31 May 2025 - 7:25PM

United States

Bernard Kerik, New York police chief through 9/11, dead at 69

Bernard Kerik led the NYPD before going to prison and a getting a pardon by Donald Trump.

30 May 2025 - 2:24PM

Consumers

China’s Pop Mart conquers Middle East with Labubu plush toys

The popular plush charm is not just trendy in the region, but also expensive, selling for US$109.

27 May 2025 - 11:11AMvideocam

Lisa from Blackpink is a fan of Pop Mart’s Labubu. Photo: Instagram/@labubuofficial

Middle East

Syrian government, Kurdish officials visit notorious prison camp

Kurdish-run camps in Syria’s northeast hold tens of thousands of people, many with alleged or perceived links to Isis.

25 May 2025 - 3:47PM

Residents of the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp, which holds relatives of suspected Isis fighters. Photo: AFP

Middle East

Syria on the brink? US warns of potential new civil war within weeks

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Syria’s transitional government facing potential collapse, more war, and ‘country splitting up’.

21 May 2025 - 2:34PM

Syrian conflict

Syria’s rebel leader Sharaa’s path from global jihad to Trump meeting

The meeting in Saudi Arabia is a milestone for a man who joined al-Qaeda in Iraq around the time of the 2003 US-led invasion.

14 May 2025 - 5:56PMvideocam

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