Iran iraq

Iran-backed Iraqi militias may lash out amid increased pressure from US - analysis

Iran-backed militias in Iraq have played a central role in expanding Tehran’s influence in the country, particularly through their involvement in the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).

Fighters lift flags of Iraq and paramilitary groups, including al-Nujaba and Kataib Hezbollah, during a funeral in Baghdad for five militants killed a day earlier in a US strike in northern Iraq, on December 4, 2023.
Iraqi security forces stand at the Shalamcheh border crossing with Iran after Iraq closed the crossing following airstrikes on the Iranian side that security sources said killed an Iraqi citizen, Iraq, April 4, 2026.

Iraq's government struggling amid threats of rebellion, protests, rising Iran tensions - analysis

Iraqi security forces stand at the Shalamcheh border crossing with Iran after Iraq closed the crossing following airstrikes on the Iranian side that security sources said killed an Iraqi citizen, Iraq, April 4, 2026.

Iraq braces for renewed Iran conflict after 1,000 strikes on Kurdistan, 600 militia attacks

Supporters of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) chant slogans and wave flags at a rally celebrating the end of the U.S. military presence in Iraq on September 30, 2026 in Baghdad, Iraq.

Mysterious explosion hits Baghdad, injuring soldiers from Iranian-backed militias in Iraq


Why did Iranian media claim Iran targeted ‘two advanced Israeli centers’ in Erbil - analysis

If Iran can claim it has struck at both it gets to claim it has struck two for the price of one. This doesn’t mean that Iran has actually done what it claims to have done.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi gestures as he speaks at Tehran's Friday prayer on the occasion of the 43rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution of Iran in Tehran, Iran, February 11, 2022.

Five times Iran used Iraqi militias to conduct drone attacks - analysis

Iran has recently established even closer ties with Iraqi militias and is now using them to attack Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other states.  

 Missiles are launched during a joint exercise called the 'Great Prophet 17', in the southwest of Iran, December 24, 2021. Picture taken December 24, 2021.

Iran and its proxies are emboldened by lack of accountability - analysis

Iran has set its sights precisely on countries in which its proxy groups have taken over the government and carried out extrajudicial killings.

Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021.

Is Iran vs. US shadow war in Iraq and Syria about to explode? - analysis

Now, the shadow conflict that has emerged, stretching from Baghdad to attacks on the US in Tanf garrison in Syria, is growing and risks exploding into the open.

 The remains of the wreckage of a drone that was shot down are seen at Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar province, Iraq January 4, 2022.

Drone attack on US base foiled, Iraqi security sources say

The words "Soleimani's revenge" were written on the wing of one of the drones, indicating that the attempted attack was connected to the two-year anniversary of the Iranian general's assassination.

 A view shows the remains of destroyed vehicles during the second anniversary of the killing of Iranian military commander General Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a US drone attack, at Baghdad Airport in Baghdad, Iraq, January 2, 2022.

Is Iran’s new drone swarm Shahed-136 tech a gamechanger? - analysis

These types of drones fly directly into a target and self-destruct, and Iran seems to have acquired it.

 An explosion is seen at an Iranian missile and drone test at the 17th Great Prophet drill in Iran.

Iran-backed militia behind attack on Iraqi PM - security officials, sources

Iran is unlikely to have sanctioned the attack as Tehran is keen to avoid a spiral of violence on its western border, sources and independent analysts said.

 Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi addresses the nation following a drone strike targeted his residence in Baghdad, Iraq November 7, 2021 in this still image obtained from a video.

Is Iran behind the drone attack against Iraqi PM? - analysis

The attack on Iraq’s Prime Minister is another step in drone warfare and is a message by pro-Iran groups in Iraq that the prime minister is not safe.

 Supporters of Iraqi Shiite armed groups burn portraits of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi and Iraq security officials during a protest against the election results near the one of the fortified Green Zone entrances in Baghdad, Iraq, November 6, 2021.

'The Iran touch': Tehran is behind decline in Lebanon, Iraq - Bennett

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Iran is behind the bloody gunbattles in Beirut as well as the rise of the anti-Iran cleric in Iraq's election.

 Army soldiers patrol after gunfire erupted, in Beirut, Lebanon October 14, 2021.

Iraqis vote in general election with a low turnout reflecting the nation's apathy

For the first time since the US invasion in 2003, Iraqis are voting in a general election. Many have pledged to boycott, having lost faith in the democratic system.

 An Iraqi woman shows her ink-stained finger after casting her vote at a polling station during the parliamentary election in the Sadr city district of Baghdad, Iraq October 10, 2021.