Iraq

Qatar’s ‘Ring of Fire’: The growing influence posing a deadly threat to Israel's security - opinion

If we do not cleanse Israel of the Qatari parasite, we will experience much greater disasters than the October 7 massacre.

|ByURIEL DESKEL
An illustration of the flags of Israel and Qatar.
ISIS militants

Controlled chaos: Terrorism is used as a political tool - opinion

Terrorism isn’t just a security threat; it’s a political tool exploited by actors who profit from instability.

|BySALEM ALKETBI
A boat approaches the St Kitt's and Nevis-flagged container ship Marsa Victory while crusing in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Khasab in Oman's northern Musandam peninsula on June 25, 2025.

Iran temporarily closes Strait of Hormuz due to 'security precautions,' shipping safety

According to Fars, the IRGC Navy commander declared that, "The weapon that reaches the battlefield on the day of war is different from what is displayed in exercises."

|ByREUTERS, JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A woman and child walk in the the al-Hol camp in Syria's northeastern Al-Hasakah Governorate on July 28, 2024, as Syrian families of suspected Islamic State fighters prepare to return to their homes in the countryside of Deir Ezzor.

Thirty-four Australians released from a camp holding families of suspected ISIS terrorists in Syria

Hukmiya Mohamed, a co-director of Roj camp, told Reuters that the 34 Australians had been released to their families, who had come to Syria for the release.

|ByREUTERS

Iraq's former PM who helped fuel ISIS makes unlikely comeback - analysis

Nouri al-Maliki let ISIS take over a third of Iraq in 2014. He spent years in the political wilderness, but now he is angling for a third term as prime minister.

JANUARY 25, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki reacts at a polling station inside Al-Rasheed Hotel during the parliamentary election in Baghdad, Iraq, November 11, 2025.

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.

Follow the flow: Inside Iranian narco-trafficking in Iraqi Kurdistan - explainer

In recent years, the Sulaymaniyah governorate in eastern Iraqi Kurdistan has become a hub for Iranian narco trafficking.

JANUARY 25, 2026ByOBSIDIAN RESEARCH BUREAU
Kurdish internal security forces stand guard after seizing a quantity of captagon pills in Qamishli, Syria, March 25, 2025.

Iranian-backed militias exploit Syria-SDF clashes to entrench role in Iraq - analysis

The Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), which are mostly made up of Iranian-backed militias, have now deployed to the border. 

JANUARY 24, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Members of the Popular Mobilization Forces drive along the border with Syria in the Tarfawi area of northwestern Iraq on January 22, 2026.

Iran says two Islamic State‑linked men executed for 2023 bus bombing

The Iranian judiciary said the attack killed a toddler and injured several others on a bus traveling from Tehran to Ilam, a province in the west that borders Iraq.

JANUARY 24, 2026ByREUTERS, JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A member loyal to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) waves an ISIL flag in Raqqa June 29, 2014.

US threatens to starve Iraq of its oil dollars over Iranian influence, sources say

The warning is the starkest example yet of US President Donald Trump's campaign to curb Iran-linked groups' influence in Iraq.

JANUARY 24, 2026ByREUTERS
A drone view shows the Zubair Oil Field in Basra, Iraq, January 16, 2025.

US to complete transfer of Islamic State detainees from Syria to Iraq in coming days, official says

The US military is transferring up to 7,000 ISIS detainees from Syrian prisons to Iraq, focusing on high-risk fighters amid growing security concerns following recent prison escapes.

JANUARY 23, 2026ByREUTERS
Children and women, relatives of suspected Islamic State jihadists, walk inside Al-Hol camp in the desert region of Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province on January 21, 2026; illustrative.

Iraq says it will begin legal proceedings against ISIS prisoners transferred from Syria

More than 10,000 members of the ultra-hardline terror group have been held for years in about a dozen prisons and detention camps guarded by the SDF in Syria's northeast.

JANUARY 22, 2026ByREUTERS
A Syrian national flag flutters next to the Islamic State's slogan at a roundabout where executions were carried out by ISIS militants in the city of Palmyra, in Homs Governorate, Syria April 1, 2016.

'Last plane to leave Tehran': Mossad's final Iran chief Eliezer Tsafrir dies at 92

Tsafrir, a veteran Mossad and Shin Bet official and Israel’s last station chief in Tehran before 1979, played a central role in Israel’s early regional intelligence efforts.

JANUARY 22, 2026ByALEX WINSTON
Eliezer "Geizi" Tzafrir, former Mossad chief for Iraqi Kurdistan and last before the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, poses for a Maariv interview back in 2022.

CENTCOM says up to 7,000 ISIS detainees could be moved to Iraq from Syria

"Ultimately, up to 7,000 ISIS detainees could be transferred from Syria to Iraqi-controlled facilities," CENTCOM said.

JANUARY 21, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
U.S. soldiers attached to the Iowa National Guard sign GBU-31 munitions systems in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility Dec. 18, 2025 as the U.S. military launched large-scale strikes against dozens of Islamic State targets in Syria in retaliation for an attack on U.S. personnel.