2026 in Iraq

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Decades:	2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	Other events of 2026 List of years in Iraq

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Events of the year 2026 in Iraq.

Incumbents

• President:
  • Abdul Latif Rashid (Until 11 April)
  • Nizar Amedi (From 11 April)
• Prime Minister: Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani

Events

January

• 21 January – US Central Command launches an operation to transfer up to 7,000 IS detainees from Syria to Iraq.
• 24 January –
  • The Coordination Framework, which hold a majority in the Council of Representatives, nominates former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki to return to office, which he previously held between 2006 and 2014.
  • Academics and university staff begin an open ended strike after the Ministry of Finance announces cuts to their salaries.
• 27 January – 2026 Iraqi presidential election.

February

• 6 February – A man detonates an explosive belt while being arrested, killing himself and injuring two security forces members in al-Khaseem, Al-Qa'im District.
• 9 February – The National Security Service announces the execution of Saadoun Sabri al-Qaisi, a former major general during the Saddam Hussein regime who had been convicted of crimes against humanity including the assassinations of cleric Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr and his sister, Amina al-Sadr, in 1980.
• 22 February – Kuwait summons the Iraqi chargé d'affaires in protest over the submission by Iraq of revised maps and maritime boundaries to the United Nations.
• 28 February –
  • Iraq closes its airspace after the U.S. and Israel launch an attack on Iran.
  • At least two airstrikes targeting Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) headquarters in Jurf al-Nasr kills two and injures eight militia members.
  • Erbil International Airport is targeted twice with drone attacks, which were reportedly intercepted.

March

• 1 March –
  • Iraq announces three days of mourning after the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iraqis also protest at the Green Zone which houses foreign embassies in Baghdad.
  • Four PMF members are killed in an unidentified airstrike targeting one of their headquarters in Diyala Governorate.
  • A US kamikaze drone falls without exploding on a farm in western Iraq.
• 2 March – The US orders all non-emergency personnel and ‌their families to evacuate Iraq alongside other countries in the region.
• 3 March –
  • Iraq shuts down production at the Rumaila oil field for lack of storage space as oil exports struggle to exit the Strait of Hormuz.
  • An unidentified force, suspected to be American or Israeli, is spotted flying helicopters from Syria and landing in the Najaf desert before being intercepted by Iraqi forces, resulting in a shootout that kills one and injures two Iraqi soldiers.
• 4 March – A nationwide blackout occurs with the Ministry of Electricity saying the power grid has gone down entirely, and that the cause is under investigation.
• 5 March – Iraqi forces shoot down a drone that attempted to attack the United States Victoria airbase near Baghdad.
• 6 March –
  • U.S. Air Force helicopters launch air-to-surface missiles at PMF positions near Mosul.
  • Drones hit a hotel in Erbil.
• 7 March – The US embassy in Baghdad is targeted by rockets.
• 9 March – A drone attack damages the UAE's consulate in Erbil.
• 10 March
  • Four members of the militant group Kata'ib al-Imam Ali are killed in a US airstrike in Dibis District, Kirkuk Governorate.
  • Cardinal Louis Raphaël I Sako, the head of the Chaldean Catholic Church and the Patriarch of Baghdad, retires at the age of 76.
• 11 March – Two oil tankers are attacked near Basra, resulting in authorities stopping all oil operations in the port.
• 12 March –
  • At least 20 people are killed in an airstrike targeting a building of the PMF in Akashat.
  • The Italian military base in Erbil is struck by a missile, with no casualties of injuries reported.
  • A French soldier is killed while six others are injured in a drone attack on their base in Mala Qara, Erbil Governorate.
  • A Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker of the US Air Force crashes in Iraq during refueling operations, killing all six crew members.
• 14 March –
  • The US embassy in Baghdad is hit by a missile strike.
  • The Hungarian Defence Forces announces its withdrawal from its garrison in Erbil airbase due to war.
• 15 March – Iraqi militia groups use FPV drones to attack a US military base near Baghdad International Airport.
• 16 March –
  • Three PMF members are injured in an airstrike near the Badush Dam in Mosul.
  • At least eight Iraqi soldiers and PMF member are killed in a suspected US attack on a checkpoint in Al-Qaim near the Iraq–Syria border.
• 17 March –
  • The US embassy in Baghdad is targeted with drone attacks, causing a small fire inside the compound.
  • At least four people are killed in an airstrike on a house in the Al-Jadriya district of Baghdad, reportedly used as a headquarters by the PMF.

• 

  NATO personnel redeployed from Bagdad, 19-20 March

  18 March – Iraq reaches a deal with Turkey and the Kurdistan Region to resume oil exports through the Kirkuk–Ceyhan Oil Pipeline.
• 19 March – Two PMF fighters are killed in airstrikes in Nineveh and Saladin Governorates.
• 20 March –
  • Polish defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz announces the withdrawal of Polish forces from Iraq, stationed there as part of the CJTF–OIR joint task force against the Islamic State, citing the regional threat from Iran.
  • The headquarters of the National Intelligence Service in central Baghdad is targeted in a drone strike, killing one police officer.
• 21 March – The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claims responsibility for targeting 27 American military bases in Iraq and across the region over the past 24 hours.
• 23 March – Kata'ib Hezbollah says that it will extend its pause on strikes on the United States embassy in Baghdad for five more days.
• 24 March – Fifteen PMF fighters, including a commander, are killed in a US airstrike on a PMF base in Al Anbar Governorate.
• 25 March – Seven fighters are killed and 13 others are injured in a strike on a PMF base in Al Anbar Governorate, the second strike on the same base in two consecutive days.
• 31 March – American journalist Shelly Kittleson is abducted in Baghdad.

April

• April 1 – The Iraq national football team wins against Bolivia in the 2026 FIFA World Cup intercontinental playoffs in Mexico, qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in 40 years.
• April 3 – Pro-Iran supporters in Baghdad gather to protest against the Iran war.
• April 6 – Two people are killed in an Iranian drone strike on the village of Zarka Zoy in Darashakran District ,Erbil Governorate.
• April 7 – Kata'ib Hezbollah announces the release of American journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was kidnapped by gunmen in Baghdad on 31 March, on condition that she leave Iraq.
• April 10 – Iraqi airspace is opened to civilian flights after being closed for around 40 days.
• April 11 – 2026 Iraqi presidential election: Nizar Amidi is elected by parliament as the new president.
• April 20 – The Rabia border crossing with Syria reopens for the first time since 2011.
• April 27 – The Coordination Framework nominates Ali al-Zaidi as their candidate for prime minister.

May

• May 3 – Iraq offers significant discounts on its Basrah crude oil leaving the Basrah Oil Terminal and exiting the strait of Hormuz.
• May 7 – The Iraqi ministry of oil announces the discovery of a new oil field in the Najaf governorate, near the Iraqi-Saudi border.

Holidays

Further information: Public holidays in Iraq

Source:

• 1 January – New Year's Day
• 6 January – Iraqi Army Day
• 18-23 March – Eid al-Fitr
• 9 April – Liberation Day
• 1 May – Labour Day
• 26–30 May – Eid al-Adha
• 16 June – Islamic New Year
• 25 June – Ashura
• 14 July – Republic Day
• 5 August – Arba'in
• 25 August – Mawlid
• 3 October – National day
• 10 December – Victory Day
• 25 December – Christmas Day

Art and entertainment

• List of Iraqi submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

Deaths

• 2 March – Yanar Mohammed, feminist and activist (b.1960)
• 8 March – Lutfiya al-Dulaimi, writer and journalist. (b.1939)
• 2 April – Tahir Jalil Habbush, intelligence official (Habbush letter), director of the Iraqi Intelligence Service (1995–2003) (b.1950)
• 4 April – Sajida Obaed, 68, singer. (b.1957)

See also

• Timeline of Iraq history
• Years in Iraq

External links

• Online calendar