Iran iraq

Marco Rubio in UAE warns Iran-backed militias in Iraq threaten regional stability

Washington has used a combination of sanctions, terrorist designations, and rewards for information on militia leaders.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio takes part in a media briefing during the 58th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' meeting and related meetings at the Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on July 10, 2025.
Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi speaks during a parliamentary session to vote in a new government at the parliament headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq, May 14, 2026.

Iraq in transition: Baghdad pushes weapons monopoly amid reforms - analysis

Iraq’s new leadership is pledging state control over weapons, but questions remain over whether Baghdad can rein in powerful Iran-backed militias.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Iranian Kurdish fighters from the Kurdistan Freedom Party, known as PAK take part in a training session at a base on the outskirts of Erbil, Iraq.

Drone attack reported in Iraq's Kurdistan region, as US-Iran tensions grow

The attack “caused extensive damage to the building, but no casualties were reported. No party has claimed responsibility so far,” local media reported.

|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.

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.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN

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.

Sirens activated in Jerusalem Hills as IAF intercepts missile form Yemen, drones from Iraq

The IDF confirmed that it had identified a single missile launch from Yemen, which was successfully intercepted with no casualties reported.

NOVEMBER 11, 2024ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
(Illustrative) An Iron Dome anti-missile projectile intercepts a rocket that was fired from Gaza, above the Israeli city of Ashkelon, Israel May 4, 2019.