Iran 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
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.
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
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."

|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.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN

‘The Americans are gone’: Iran happy US left Taji base

The base has been attacked a dozen times by rockets fired by pro-Iranian militias and three coalition personnel were killed there in March.

AUGUST 30, 2020BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Iranian-backed militias stand on a tank close to the Syria-Iraq border

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

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
A model of Simorgh satellite-carrier rocket during a ceremony marking the 37th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, in Tehran, Iran, February 11, 2016

Iranian-backed militias play political party by day, fighters by night

The militias are playing a dangerous game as they try to edge the US out of Iraq without inviting retaliation measures.

JANUARY 27, 2020BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
A headquarters building of Popular Mobilization Forces (Hashd al-Shaabi) burns after being torched by demonstrators during ongoing anti-government protests, in Nassiriya, Iraq January 5, 2020

Thousands gather in Baghdad to mourn Soleimani

The US Embassy in Baghdad urged American citizens to leave Iraq following the strike at Baghdad airport that killed Soleimani.

JANUARY 4, 2020ByREUTERS
FILE PHOTO: Iranian demonstrators react during a protest against the killing of the Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who were killed in an air strike at Baghdad airport, in front of United Nations office in Tehra

Iran in Iraq

In Iraq, the Iranian regime has been active in supporting Shi’ite militias that are part of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU).

DECEMBER 27, 2019ByJPOST EDITORIAL
QAIS AL-KHAZALI, leader of the Iran-supported force Asaib Ahl al-Haq, speaks during a celebration of final victory over Islamic State, at the Wadi al-Salam cemetery in Najaf, Iraq.