Known to his inner circle as "beyefendi" (sir) and to admirers as "reis" (the chief), Erdogan prides himself on being able to woo doubters through tireless campaigning. This passion has helped him and his party win more than a dozen local and national elections, allowing Erdogan to claim a people's...

DUBAI, UAE - Conflict-plagued countries in the Middle East are among the most vulnerable to climate change but are almost entirely excluded from meaningful financing to mitigate its effects, aid groups warned on Thursday.In a joint report focusing on Iraq, Syria and Yemen, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)...

ARBIL, IRAQ- Officials in Iraqi Kurdistan say Baghdad is still waiting to reach a "final agreement" with Ankara to resume oil exports to Turkey, where the results of tightly-contested presidential elections hang in the balance.After defying Baghdad and independently exporting crude through Turkey for nearly a decade, Iraq's autonomous Kurdish...

TEHRAN, IRAN- Iran has summoned Iraq's ambassador to protest over the presence of Iranian opposition groups at an official ceremony in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, media reported on Sunday.Quoting the foreign ministry, ISNA news agency said that during Saturday's meeting Tehran expressed its "strong objection" to the invitation of members of...

Tehran, Iran--Iran's trade with six Arab states has vaulted to $35.11 billion in the fiscal year of 2022-2023, according to the latest data released by the Islamic Republic.According to Iran Customs Administration, the Islamic Republic traded 58.25 million tons of goods (excluding crude oil exports) worth $35.11 billion with the...

The Kurdish regional government had for years earned billions of dollars in revenues exporting crude oil to Turkey without the Iraqi federal government's approval. But the exports were suspended in late March when international arbitrators ruled in favor of the Iraqi federal government's right to control oil exports going through...

On Thursday the Kurdish authorities said in a statement that "the Kurdistan regional government and the federal authorities have reached a (final) deal on the resumption of oil exports". Hours later, Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdel Ghani said crude exports would resume from Saturday.

IS militants used sledgehammers and power tools to deface ancient statues and pre-Islamic treasures housed in the museum.

BEIRUT, LEBANON -  An air strike killed a major drug smuggler and his family in southern Syria on Monday, a war monitor said, attributing the strike to Jordan though Amman did not immediately confirm.Drug dealer "Marai al-Ramthan, his wife and six children were killed in a Jordanian air force strike" in...

The railway track will connect Iran's southwestern town of Shalamcheh with Basra in Iraq in what will be the first such link between the two countries. In this regard, the two signed an MoU in Basra. It outlines the route for the railway line, location of passenger stations, a timeline...

BAGHDAD, IRAQ -  Iraq Prime Minister Muhammad Shia'a Al-Sudani said that the country is continuing regional economic communication.A statement issued by the Prime Minister's media office said, "Muhammad Shia' al-Sudani received the Lebanese Minister of Energy and Water Walid Fayyad and the Deputy Director of the Lebanese State Security Hassan...

An Iraqi court sentenced to death a former policeman convicted of killing prominent academic Hisham al-Hashemi, whose murder in 2020 sparked condemnation in the country and abroad. The sentence against Ahmed Hamdawi Oueid for killing Hashemi, an expert on Sunni extremism and a government security adviser, was handed down by...

The bloc's foreign ministers unanimously agree to allow government delegations from Syria to resume their participation in meetings ahead of a key summit in Jeddah on May 19.

Baghdad, Iraq -- Iraq's oil minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani has said the Iraqi government was keen to support the Lebanese people and consider their fuel needs.Abdul-Ghani received the Lebanese Minister of Energy and Water, Walid Fayyad, and his accompanying delegation. During the meeting, they discussed prospects for bilateral relations and cooperation...

Amman, Jordan-- Seeking to widen its economic and trade ties with Jordan, the Iraqi Business Council (IBC) will organize the Jordanian-Iraqi Business and Finance Forum next month in Amman, under the theme: "Building Bridges of Common Prosperity," with “wide” participation from the two countries’ investors, business owners, companies and other...

Baghdad, Iraq - Jordan and Iraq have signed a deal to resume the export of Iraqi crude to Jordan under preferential terms, the Jordan News Agency reportedThe agreement was signed by the Energy and Mineral Resources Minister of Jordan, Saleh Al Kharabsheh, and the Oil Minister of Iraq, Hayan Abdul...

Ankara stopped importing oil from Iraqi Kurdistan in March after the International Chamber of Commerce ruled the federal government in Baghdad was the only entity authorized to manage exports.

AMMAN, JORDAN  - Jordan's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi on Wednesday briefed his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on the outcome of a consultative meeting held here on Syria.In addition to Jordan, the meeting on Tuesday also brought together the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt and...

"The suspected leader of Daesh, codename Abu Hussein al-Qurashi, has been neutralised in an operation carried out yesterday (Saturday) by the MIT in Syria," Erdogan announced on television, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State organisation. Residents said that an operation had targeted an abandoned farm that was being...

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi slammed the United States' presence in the Middle East, as he hosted his counterpart from neighboring Iraq for wide-ranging talks. Decades-old arch enemies the United States and Iran have vied for influence in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion toppled dictator Saddam Hussein. Both helped Iraq...

Tehran, Iran--Accompanied by a large delegation, Iraq's President Abdul Latif Rashid arrived in Tehran to deepen economic, trade and political ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran.Upon his arrival early on Saturday, the Iraqi chief executive was welcomed by Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance of Iran Ehsan Khandozi at the...

Baghdad, Iraq -- The Federation of Iraqi Chambers of Commerce FICC has said that Iraq offers promising investment opportunities and its entry into the SWIFT platform gave a positive message to all countries of the world."Iraq has thousands of promising investment opportunities in oil, agro-industries, commercial and tourism," the head...

Tehran, Iran-- Iraq's President Abdul Latif Rashid will make an official visit to Iran in the near future as the two countries seek to consolidate their relations amid the warming of ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran.The visit of the Iraqi president to Iran was confirmed in a phone conversation...

Baghdad, Iraq -- Iraq's premier sacked Thursday a security chief in Baghdad, his office said in a statement, after a Sunni cleric jailed for fraud escaped and went on the run for two days.Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani also ordered the closure of the detention facility in the capital's Green...

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - A former Iraqi religious official convicted of corruption has escaped police custody, prompting the arrest of more than two dozen officers suspected of helping him flee, the government said Wednesday.Saad Qambash was once head of Iraq's Sunni Waqf, the state body overseeing religious and civilian properties for Sunni...

Baghdad, Iraq--Iraqi police arrested overnight almost 200 people in raids on illegal casinos where alcohol was served in defiance of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, the interior ministry said Tuesday.The raids targeted four locations in Baghdad where games of blackjack and roulette had been underway, ministry spokesman Saad Maan said.A...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia--ACWA Power will construct a 1,000 megawatt solar power plant in Iraq, the first clean energy project in the country.    According to its electricity minister, the joint venture project will be developed in Central Iraq’s Najaf city, around 160 km south of the capital, Baghdad.  “The Saudi firm has agreed to build...

In February this year, the Iraqi foreign minister reiterated Baghdad's support for a ceasefire and negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, during a visit to Baghdad by his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

BAGHDAD, IRAQ -  Iraq's Minister of Water Resources Aoun Diab said on Sunday that the releases of the Tigris River will improve in the coming days.He also said that an invitation was extended to the Iranian Minister of Energy to attend the third Baghdad Water Conference.Diab said that "meetings and...

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammed S. Al-Sudani chaired a meeting focused on discussing the provisions of the federal budget bill submitted to the Parliament. The meeting was attended by Parliament Deputy Speaker Muhsin Al-Mandalawi, Parliament Deputy Speaker Shakhwan Abdullah and MPs of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, as well...

The PKK, which Ankara and its Western allies classify as a "terrorist" organisation, operates rear bases in Iraq's north. Since 1984 the PKK has waged an insurgency in Turkey that has claimed tens of thousands of lives, and Ankara has long maintained military positions inside northern Iraq where it regularly...

Iraq, one of the countries worst-hit by climate change, endured a dozen major sandstorms last year that turned the sky orange, brought daily life to a halt and left its people gasping for air. When the storms clear, layers of fine sand cover everything - including the Sumerian ruins of...

Iraqi cleric Moqtada Sadr, an influential player in national politics, said he was "freezing" for a year his powerful movement over "sinful" practices among supporters. Sadr, a Muslim Shiite leader, has the ability to mobilize tens of thousands of his supporters with a single message and presents himself as an...

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - The World Health Organization (WHO) affirmed it is likely to support Iraq in the localization of its pharmaceutical industry, local media reports say.WHO official Ahmed Zueiten, said, “I spoke with Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani about the partnership between Iraq and global health.”He said, "The organization has...

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - Iraqi President Abdel Latif Rashid condemned Turkey on Saturday for bombarding an area near Sulaimaniyah airport in the autonomous Kurdish region, a flashpoint between the two governments."Turkish military operations against the Kurdistan region continue to take place, the last being the bombardment (Friday) against Sulaimaniyah civilian airport," Rashid...

Amman, Jordan -- Twenty years after the fall of his regime, the late Iraqi president Saddam Hussein remains admired and popular in Jordan where his image can still be seen across the country.The instantly recognizable face peers out from everything from bumper stickers to mobile phone cases in neighboring Jordan, despite...

Doha, Qatar - QatarEnergy has agreed to hold a 25 percent share in the Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP) - a multi-billion-dollar project aimed at monetizing and developing the natural gas resources of Iraq.The GGIP consortium will be composed of Basra Oil Company (30 percent), TotalEnergies (45 percent), and QatarEnergy...

Paris, France--French energy giant TotalEnergies announced Wednesday an agreement with Iraq on a $10 billion project that had been delayed due to disagreements over the terms of a deal aimed at improving the country's electricity supply.The contract, originally signed in 2021, includes investments in oil, gas and solar production.But the two...

The deal, thrashed out in talks between federal and regional officials, spells the end of independent oil exports by the Kurdish regional government and marks a clear limit to its autonomy.

Dozens of women who had fled deadly violence in Iraq found a home in a Jordanian church where, without work, they learn skills to earn a living.

Baghdad, Iraq--Iraqi oil ministry has affirmed the federal government's keenness on speeding up the resumption of the Kurdistan region of Iraq's oil exports through the Turkish port of Ceyhan as well as work to bring views closer to serve the public interest.In a statement issued on Sunday, the ministry noted...

A joint economic city is going to come up on the Iraq-Jordan border and in this regard an international tender has been set up by the two countries. The tender, according to the Jordanian ministry of industry and trade, includes preparing studies, designs, engineering plans, developing, financing, and operating the...

Cuts by the Saudis, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Algeria and Oman from May to the end of the year will total more than one million barrels per day -- the biggest reduction since the OPEC+ cut 2 million bpd in Oct. A Saudi official called it a measure "aimed at supporting...

Spelling the end of independent oil exports by the regional government, Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region will resume oil exports through Turkey on Monday, but in the future they will be supervised by the federal government in Baghdad. The outcome was achieved in talks between federal and regional officials.

The minister said the refinery, built by South Korean firm Hyundai, can produce nine million liters of fuel a day -- over half of Iraq's daily imports of 15 million liters. The refinery has the capacity to produce 200 megawatts of electricity and "60 megawatts will be allocated to the...

Blanketing central Iraq in dust, the sandstorm made life diffcult on Firday for Iraqis venturing out of their homes. A thick film of dust covered cars and houses and many struggled to breathe air filled with sand. It was the first such weather event to hit the aird country this...

ARBIL, IRAQ - Authorities in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region announced on Sunday a November date for legislative elections which had been postponed by a year due to disputes between two major parties.The regional parliament had voted in October to extend its term and reschedule the vote amid disagreements between the Kurdistan...

The Iraqi oil ministry said that Turkey stopped oil exports from Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region on Saturday in the wake of arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce. It said that Baghdad's claims had been accepted in a dispute with Ankara over who had responsiblity for exporting the autonomous region's...

The provincial councils, created by the 2005 constitution following the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, carry relatively significant power in federal Iraq, including allocating the budgets for health, transport and education.

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani will visit Turkey on Tuesday for talks including on scarce water resources and the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a government source said.Sudani is set to meet Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his first visit to Iraq's northern neighbor since he...