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<p>Violent storms lash northern Iraq and parts of Iran, while Portugal faces strong winds and Japan braces for further snowfall</p><p>Deadly flash floods hit northern Iraq on Saturday as severe thunderstorms swept across the region, including in neighbouring Iran. The city of Erbil, in Iraq, was particularly badly hit, with extensive damage to homes and busi

A major gasfield in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region was struck in a “terrorist attack” late on Sunday night, authorities said. The assault on Khor Mor in Sulaymaniyah province caused blackouts across the region, the Kurdish Electricity and Natural Resources ministries said. The ministries described the strikes as a “terrorist attack” and said they we

A drone attack has halted production at the Khor Mor gas field in northern Iraq, causing widespread power outages.

The strike leaves more than 70 percent of northern Iraq's Kurdish region without power.

<img align='right' src='https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_2122,w_3267/693568' alt='FILE PHOTO: The Khor Mor gas field after a rocket attack near Chamchamal, in Sulaymaniyah province, Iraq, November 27, 2025. (photo credit: REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo)' title='FILE PHOTO: The Khor Mor gas field after a roc

<img align='right' src='https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_2522,w_3784/745442' alt='Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein speaks during a joint press conference with Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary-General Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed in Baghdad, Iraq, October 18, 2026. (photo credit: REUTERS/AH

<img align='right' src='https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_683,w_1024/745375' alt='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. (photo cre

A political impasse between the KRG and PUK threatens to break up the semiautonomous northern region.

Bahrain has decided to send an ambassador back to Iraq, ending a diplomatic rift and marking a thaw in relations after the first visit by an Iraqi prime minister to the kingdom in more than two decades. The decision was conveyed on Saturday by Bahraini Foreign Minister Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani. He spoke in a phone call with Iraq's Foreign Minister

Heavy rain has brought disaster on two fronts, as flash floods in northern Iraq killed two people while flooding in Gaza inundated displacement camps, leaving tens of thousands soaked with few resources to cope. In Erbil, the capital of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region , torrential rainfall on Saturday evening triggered flash flooding across most of t

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi has ordered the cancellation of three contracts at Mosul International Airport over alleged links to armed groups, in a direct challenge to the business networks of Iran-backed militias operating in northern Iraq. The decision was announced by Nineveh Governor Abdul Qadir Al Dakhil late on Saturday after a meeting in Baghdad

Iraqi foreign minister tells Al Jazeera that Baghdad is investigating attacks on the Gulf launched from its territory.

<img align='right' src='https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_2134,w_3200/720114' alt='A flag of the Islamic State (IS) is seen on the other side of a bridge at the frontline of fighting between Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and Islamist militants in Rashad, on the road between Kirkuk and Tikrit, on September 11, 2

<img align='right' src='https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_3813,w_5720/736772' alt='Fighters with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) line up to put their weapons into a pit during a ceremony in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region. (photo credit: Shwan MOHAMMED / AFP via Getty Images)' title='F

Turkey does not oppose the rehabilitation of an oil pipeline between Iraq and Syria that would provide an alternative export route to the Strait of Hormuz for Baghdad’s crude, Turkey’s Energy Minister has said. “We are not afraid” of the Kirkuk to Baniyas pipeline, the Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Alparslan Bayraktar, said in response to

A powerful Kurdish party in Iraq announced it is to withdraw from the northern Kurdistan Regional Government ( KRG ), deepening a political crisis with its longtime rival and raising fears of a return to parallel administrations in the region. The move came after the Kurdistan parliament convened for the first time in nearly two years and elected a Speaker d

UAE and Iraqi authorities have dismantled a multinational drug smuggling network by intercepting a major narcotics shipment in Ras Al Khaimah. Authorities arrested 20 suspects after preventing the smuggling of 200,000 Captagon tablets and more than 30kg of narcotics into the country. The operation was carried out by the National Anti-Narcotics Agency in co-o

Tehran says ships from four countries can cross Hormuz freely, but analysts say the deals carry political risks.

Call comes as Iraq's top diplomat urges armed groups not to join any Iranian retaliation to US attacks.

Celebrating the arrest of a wanted crime boss in Iraq , Australian police commissioner Krissy Barrett urged members of Kazem Hamad's drug gang to "look long and hard" at a photo of him in custody. But it seemed her department might not have done the same, as the photo of Hamad suggested he was almost 9ft (2.74m) tall - which would make him the world's talles

<img align='right' src='https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_3400,w_4529/730442' alt='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 February 12, 2026. (photo credit: REUTERS/Stringer TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)' title

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi held talks in the Bahraini capital Manama on Wednesday on the first visit to the kingdom by a leader of post-2003 Iraq. Mr Al Zaidi said he was visiting Bahrain to “revive the historic relationship between the two countries,” saying work was taking place to boost ties in economic and political fields. Iraq and Bahrain share

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi held talks in the Bahraini capital Manama on Wednesday on the first visit to the kingdom by a leader of post-2003 Iraq. Mr Al Zaidi expressed Iraq's keenness to “expand areas of co-operation and partnership between the two countries, in various economic, political and social sectors,” his office said. The talks aim to improv

In the image, Kaz Hamad appears to have six fingers and is nine feet tall. Now we know why.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held talks with his Qatari and Iraqi counterparts on Tuesday, urging intensified diplomatic efforts and flexibility to prevent the Middle East from slipping into a broader military confrontation. In a phone call with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the two top diplo

<img align='right' src='https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_3995,w_6000/744760' alt='Oil trucks arriving from Iraq at the Baniyas oil terminal, in Baniyas, Syria, May 14, 2026. (photo credit: REUTERS/MAHMOUD HASSANO)' title='Oil trucks arriving from Iraq at the Baniyas oil terminal, in Baniyas, Syria, May 14,

<img align='right' src='https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_4062,w_6093/744538' alt='Shiite muslim pilgrims hold portraits of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah (R), Imam Ali (C) and depiction of Sayyida Zaynab bint Ali ibn Abi Talib (L) as they march to the shrine city of Karbala ahead of commemorations

<img align='right' src='https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_537,w_822/744492' alt='Visitors examine exhibits at the “Jewish Shamash Museum” in Baghdad, Iraq. (photo credit: Instagram/screenshot/section 27A copyright act)' title='Visitors examine exhibits at the “Jewish Shamash Museum” in Baghdad, Iraq. (photo

A Frenchman who converted to Islam before travelling to Syria in support of ISIS expressed contrition before a court in Iraq on Sunday, saying he regretted joining the group. Thomas Barnouin, whose career as an extremist stretches back to the 2000s, appeared before the court in Baghdad almost nine years after he was captured by Kurdish forces in Syria . Mr B

Baghdad is committed to protecting the security of Gulf states and remaining neutral should the war between the US and Iran resume, Iraq's national security adviser has told The National . Qasim Al Abudi stressed that there was broad national consensus in Iraq that the country must not intervene or become part of the conflict. Tehran-backed armed factions in

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi has assumed direct control of the country's intelligence service, days after dismissing the agency's chief amid what officials described as mounting security challenges. Government spokesman Sabah Al Numan said Mr Al Zaidi, who also serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, took over the duties of head of the Iraqi N

The three were among 47 French "Islamic State" suspects transferred from Syrian detention. So far, ten French nationals have received prison terms after being convicted of belonging to the group.

Archaeologists have found new remains near Baghdad that will shed new light on life in Mesopotamia some 4,000 years ago, Iraqi authorities have said. Iraq 's State Board of Antiquities and Heritage announced the discoveries as part of a joint project with Italy’s University of Catania. The findings include walls and gates, facilities that may have been used

Two prominent Iraqi politicians were sentenced to prison and ordered to pay billions of dinars in fines on Thursday, in cases stemming from the government's sweeping anti-corruption campaign , a court official told The National . Iraq's Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court on Thursday sentenced Muthana Al Samarrai , head of the Azm Alliance, to six years i

An Iraqi court on Thursday sentenced three more French nationals to life in prison for being part of ISIS, bringing to 10 the number of French citizens convicted this week. The three men were sentenced by the Karkh Criminal Court in Baghdad under Iraq’s anti-terrorism law. Under Iraqi law, a life sentence is equivalent to 20 years in prison and is subject to

Deploying Iranian-Kurdish opposition groups from Iraq was never part of the US battle plan in Iran, Kurdistan Region Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani has told The National , as he suggested the time was right for a peace process between the factions and Tehran modelled on an armistice in Turkey . Reports emerged at the peak of the Iran war of possible US

Talks focused on enhancing trade, reviving Baniyas oil pipeline and achieving stability through cooperation.

<img align='right' src='https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_854,w_1280/732006' alt='Iraqi Prime Minister and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi chairs the Ministerial Council for National Security for an emergency meeting, to discuss the latest security developments and the attack c

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi and Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara agreed on Wednesday to push ahead with energy, trade and security co-operation, on the first visit by an Iraqi leader to Damascus since the regime of Bashar Al Assad fell in 2024. Accompanied by a senior delegation, Mr Al Zaidi was welcomed by Mr Al Shara in Damascus and held talks aimed a

<img align='right' src='https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_4000,w_6000/738804' alt='Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi meets with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, not pictured, on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York City, US, September 21, 2026. (photo credit: REUTERS/Jeenah

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi has shaken up his team five months after taking power, dismissing several officials including the head of intelligence and chief of staff. An order signed by Mr Al Zaidi’s new chief of staff Rashad Khalaf Hashim removed intelligence chief Hamid Al Shatri without giving a reason. No replacement has yet been named. Mr Hashim a

An Iraqi court on Tuesday sentenced seven French ISIS members to prison, in the first verdicts of a trial involving 47 of the country's citizens transferred from Syria , handing down sentences under terrorism laws. The court sentenced six people to 20 years in prison and one was jailed for 15 years. Judge Mohammed Salman, of the Karkh Criminal Court, read ou

Iran says the United States is "not serious" about negotiations as UKMTO reports a ship on fire off the coast of Iraq.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi met Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Prime Minister Jaafar Hassan in Amman on Monday for talks on strengthening bilateral relations and expanding co-operation across sectors. King Abdullah and Mr Al Zaidi discussed ways to enhance joint action between the neighbouring countries, particularly in energy, electricity interconnecti

<img align='right' src='https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_3486,w_5500/742883' alt='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. (photo cr

<img align='right' src='https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_683,w_1024/743615' alt='Iraq's Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi (C) looks on during the family photo during the 52nd session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers in Baghdad on October 17, 2026. (photo credit: AHMAD

Iraq's Karkh Court in Baghdad on Monday ordered an investigation into the head of Maysan's provincial council after Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi called for a probe over his calls for civil disobedience if the Al Sheeb border crossing with Iran is not reopened. Last week, Iraq closed the crossing in Maysan to travellers and goods, with the decision escalating

Iraq is debating a draft federal budget for 2027 that would be the biggest in its history, but the plan is also the most detached from the country's financial reality. The bill, a copy of which was seen by The National , looks like a welfare-state budget drafted for a stable time, not an austerity plan for a government in the middle of its worst financial cr

A 89ª zona eleitoral de Iraquara (BA) tem 17 locais de votação. O g1 publicou reportagens com a votação para presidente em cada um deles, no 2º turno das Eleições 2026, com os números de cada seção eleitoral. Os dados foram divulgados pelo Tribunal Superior Eleitoral (TSE). Os números se referem apenas à votação no local e não apontam quem foi eleito. Clique

Thousands gather in Tahrir Square to mark seven years since Iraq’s 2019 ‘Tishreen’ protests.

<img align='right' src='https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_3486,w_5500/742883' alt='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. (photo cr

<img align='right' src='https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_4480,w_6720/743460' alt='A view shows the conical temple roofs, courtyards and pilgrims at the Lalish sanctuary during the Jama'i festival in Lalish, Duhok Governorate, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, on October 10, 2026; Illustrative. (photo credit: Hussei

<img align='right' src='https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_1953,w_2928/743387' alt='An Israeli fighter jet is seen in the skies over central Israel, October 18, 2026. (photo credit: NATI SHOHAT/FLASH90)' title='An Israeli fighter jet is seen in the skies over central Israel, October 18, 2026. (photo credit: N

<img align='right' src='https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_800,w_1200/743372' alt='Two US Air Force A-10 Warthog aircraft patrol the skies over the Middle East, October 24, 2026; Illustrative. (photo credit: screenshot/X/@CENTCOM)' title='Two US Air Force A-10 Warthog aircraft patrol the skies over the Middle

The senior UN diplomat and pacifist became disillusioned with the organisation and lived his life to Quaker ideals

<img align='right' src='https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_1297,w_1969/743231' alt='Benjamin Hassin overlooks the Western Wall, just weeks after returning to Israel following more than 11 years in Iraqi prisons, including nearly five years under a death sentence. (photo credit: Benjamin Hassin)' title='Benjam

Iran is committing serious violations against Iraq, including security breaches, economic disruption and drug trafficking, said an adviser to the Iraqi Prime Minister, as Baghdad closed some border crossings over security issues. Abdelamir Taiban, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi , told local media that Iran had “deliberately undermined Iraq’s

Iraq has closed the busy Sheeb border crossing with Iran to review security and install detection equipmentto stop the smuggling of prohibited materials, an Iraqi border official said on Wednesday.

<img align='right' src='https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_537,w_822/742883' alt='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. (photo cred

Iraq has closed the Al Sheeb border crossing with Iran to travellers and goods, according to a government official. The closure, which took effect at 6am local time on Wednesday, will remain in place until further notice, the official told The National . The move followed direct orders from Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi ⁠and the decision was taken to “reconsid