Iran iraq

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.

JUNE 1, 2026|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN

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.

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.

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."

MAY 30, 2026|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN

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

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.

MAY 24, 2026|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN

New Iraqi Prime Minister designate Ali al-Zaidi, uses a phone at his office in Baghdad, Iraq, April 28, 2026.

Kurdistan Region hopes for stability with new Iraq Prime Minister

Iraq’s prime minister is chosen by Shi’ite political parties to reflect the fact that Shi’ites are the largest group in Iraq, while the Kurds receive the presidency.

MAY 2, 2026|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN

Are Iranian-backed groups threatening UN in Iraq?

In the past Iranian-backed militias have threatened demonstrators, civil society activists and even the prime minister.

JULY 29, 2020BySETH J. FRANTZMAN

An aerial view shows Mandali border crossing between Iraq and Iran, in Mandali, Iraq July 11, 2020

Murder of Iraqi commentator al-Hashimi is a blow for the region - analysis

In Iraq, media and commentators are still vulnerable to the language of the bullet rather than the language of debate.

JULY 7, 2020BySETH J. FRANTZMAN

A demonstrator carries an Iraqi flag as he walks near burning tires blocking a road during ongoing anti-government protests, in Baghdad, Iraq January 19, 2020.

Prominent Iraqi government advisor Husham al-Hashemi shot dead in Baghdad

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Hashemi's killing.

JULY 7, 2020ByREUTERS

Iraqi security forces gather in a street, during a curfew imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Baghdad, Iraq

What sort of man is Iraq’s new prime minister?

Everything about Kadhimi’s past suggests a man imbued with generous humanitarian instincts, an upholder of social justice, utterly opposed to repressive dictatorship.

JUNE 18, 2020ByNEVILLE TELLER

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in an official photograph in 2020 provided by The Media Office of the Prime Minister of Iraq

A rift emerges among pro-Iranian militias in Iraq

Different units are increasingly divided between those who want to play a role in Iran’s regional strategy and those who want to be a more local Iraqi force.

APRIL 29, 2020BySETH J. FRANTZMAN

Iran's aspirations in the region: The crossroads of uncertainty

Will Iran try to cement its role in a circle of Iraqi decision-makers, or will we witness the beginning of the end of Iran’s greater regional aspirations?

FEBRUARY 23, 2020ByETHAN SHEINKER