Iran iraq

Iraq under pressure to curb Iran-backed militias after Rubio call - analysis

Iraq is now at a crossroads. Iran is increasingly turning Iraq into a battlefield. Iraq appears unwilling to rein in the militias in Iraq. Iraqis know the situation is dire.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
A protester holds an image of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite armed groups attempt to move toward the US embassy located in Baghdad's Green Zone, while riot police deploy to block their advance, in Baghdad, Iraq, March 1, 2026.
Iran and Iraq map. Ilustration.

Why Iran's attack on Gulf states mimics Iraq's assault on Saudi Arabia - analysis

Iran's attack might have the opposite effect, bringing Gulf countries closer together and enabling cooperation with the US and among themselves.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Supporters of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s Reconstruction and Development Coalition Party celebrate, after election results were announced in Baghdad last month. A week later, Sudani announced that his faction would join with the Coordination Framework, a political bloc with ties t

US sets Friday deadline for Iraq to form government free of Iran-linked Maliki or face sanctions

The US issued a Friday ultimatum to Baghdad: form a government without Iranian influence or face sanctions. Washington specifically targeted the nomination of Nouri al-Maliki for Prime Minister.

|ByTHE MEDIA LINE STAFF
Reported footage of Iranian security forces suppressing the Iranian protests

Kataib Hezbollah calls on supporters to prepare for conflict with Israel

The statement is the latest example of how Iranian-backed militias in Iraq are continuing to threaten Israel, the US, and the region.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN

US urges Iraq to limit Iranian influence as new government forms

The discussion centered on Iraq accepting up to 7,000 ISIS detainees from Syria, a move that could spark controversy within the country.

JANUARY 26, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (C) inspects a guard of honour during the Army Day celebrations, marking the 105th anniversary of the founding of Iraqi army, at Military College in Baghdad on January 6, 2026.

Baghdad has no reason to send forces to Iran amid protests, Iraqi scholar tells 'Post'

According to some media outlets, including Iran International, thousands of Iraqi militiamen have already crossed into Iran to help Tehran suppress the ongoing protests.

JANUARY 25, 2026BySUZAN QUITAZ
Members of the Popular Mobilization Forces stand guard at a military base near the Iraqi-Syrian border in Al-Qaim, west of Iraq on January 23, 2026.

Armed Kurdish groups sought to cross into Iran from Iraq, sources say

Turkey, which deems Kurdish militants in northern Iraq terrorists, has warned in recent days that any foreign intervention in Iran would escalate regional crises.

JANUARY 14, 2026ByREUTERS
Fighters from the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), an Iranian Kurdish opposition group, are pictured near the border with Iran in Iraq's Kurdistan Region, in the outskirts of Sulaimaniya, Iraq, June 21, 2025.

Iraqi militias may disarm over US-Israel threats, 30 million light weapons outside state control

With 90% of Iranian-backed groups agreeing to surrender weapons, experts warn that secret stockpiles, divided loyalties, and political bargaining could undermine the process.

DECEMBER 27, 2025ByHUDHAIFA EBRAHIM/THE MEDIA LINE
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi attends a military parade for the members of Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) marking its eighth anniversary, in Diyala province, Iraq July 23, 2022.

Iraq says gas supplies from Iran have been halted as Trump's 'maximum pressure' campaign kicks in

The ministry reported that 4,000 to 4,500 megawatts of power have been lost from the electrical system due to the halt in Iranian gas supplies.

DECEMBER 23, 2025ByREUTERS
Cracked brick wall painted with a Iranian flag on the left and a Iraqi flag on the right.

The hit that wasn’t: When Saddam Hussein offered to kill Khomeini and the Shah said no

This decision, made quietly, cautiously, and with the best of intentions, reshaped the fate of a nation and the entire region.

JULY 7, 2025ByALEX WINSTON
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L) who became Iran's first Supreme Leader after the Islamic Revolution and Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, who offered the Shah of Iran to dispose of the cleric

How Iraqi militias siphoned billions from Visa and Mastercard for Iran - WSJ

US and Iraqi authorities revealed a complex scheme involving prepaid cards that funneled illicit funds to Iranian-backed terror militias.

JUNE 2, 2025ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Members of the Iran-backed Iraqi militias al-Nujaba and Kataib Hezbollah appear in Baghdad on December 4, 2023.

Arab League Summit in Baghdad is about a new Arab world - analysis

The reports in Iraq note that the summit seeks to focus on many issues in the region.

MAY 17, 2025BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein welcomes Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani upon arrival at Baghdad International Airport ahead of the 34th Arab League summit, in Baghdad, Iraq, May 17, 2025.

Iraqi president highlights 'historic' ties with Iran during Davos address

Abdul Latif Rashid discussed Iraq-Iran relations and Iraqi sovereignty at Davos.

JANUARY 25, 2025BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Presidential candidate Abdul Latif Rashid attends a parliamentary session to vote for a new head of state president in Baghdad, Iraq, October 13, 2022.

The world has Israel to thank for no nuclear fears in post-Assad Syria- opinion

Thanks to Israel, the now-impending Syrian chaos may be deeply destabilizing, but it will plausibly be nonnuclear.

JANUARY 7, 2025ByLOUIS RENÉ BERES
IN SEPTERMBER 2007, IDF fighter jets carried out Operation Orchard and destroyed a nuclear reactor in Syria. If not for the Israeli operation, nuclear weapons could eventually have fallen into the hands of Sunni jihadi terrorist organizations now beginning to contend for power in post-Assad Syria.