WIRE
KURDISTAN24Iraq PM Says Coalition Forces to Withdraw From Iraq on Sept. 303HKURDISTAN24Safeen Dizayee: Iraq Must Punish Groups Attacking Kurdistan Region4HKURDISTAN24Senior PMF Official, Three Members Arrested in Baghdad4HKURDISTAN24Al-Araji: Decision for War and Peace Belongs Solely to Iraqi State4HKURDISTAN24Iran Presses Iraq Against Disarming Armed Groups, Sources Say4H964 MEDIAGraham Arnold signs short term Iraq extension, turning down four-year deal5HIRAQI NEWSIraq, Qatar provide oil for loading inside Hormuz via bids5HRUDAWIraq coordinates with Germany, Russia ahead of US coalition withdrawal5HREUTERSIraq's Australian coach Arnold renews contract for six months5HIRAQI NEWSIraq to introduce new banknotes with three zeros removed6HRUDAWBaghdad ready to handle national security after US departure: Spox7HIRAQI NEWSIraq to raise oil exports via Turkey’s Ceyhan to 750,000 bpd8HIRAQI NEWSIraq suggests a security council involving Iran, Saudi Arabia10HTHE NEW REGIONIraq to slash three zeros from currency, introduce new notes10HIRAQI NEWSIraq foreign reserves decline 11.6% to $86.17B in June 202611HIRAQI NEWSSamarra Drug Company starts first domestic Moxifloxacin Antibiotic output11H
Iraq Monitorعين على العراقPrimary-source intelligence
THE BRIEFING · AN INDEPENDENT DIGEST

The Daily Digest

TUESDAY, 18 AUGUST 2026 · MORNING EDITION

The Daily Digest

Iraq's prime minister ordered a probe into the drone strike on Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani's office in Erbil, and the foreign minister asked Tehran for an official explanation for the attack, which the Kurdistan Region's counterterrorism service attributed to Iranian drones. The two governments discussed the attack directly and Baghdad sought Tehran's position; Iran's foreign minister answered with a warning about false-flag ploys rather than an acknowledgement. The KRG asked Baghdad to take the case to the United Nations, pressing that demand publicly while Kurdish leaders pressed Baghdad to act and Iraqi MPs called for an emergency parliament session in Erbil. The EU condemned the strikes on Barzani's office and on the Kurdistan Region security chief's residence, the UAE issued an official statement calling the strike Iranian, and US envoy Tom Barrack condemned the attack, with Moqtada al-Sadr criticising what Kurdistan24 reported as Iranian drone attacks on the region.

On the security file, Iraq's top leaders renewed their call to place weapons under state control, and Kataib Hezbollah (Iran-aligned Iraqi militia) set conditions on any disarmament talks, a set of conditions Shafaq also reported as attached to the weapons talks, while a bloc linked to the group called the effort madness and said the disarmament law will not pass. The same fight is running inside the Popular Mobilization Forces command: Al-Ahad TV (AAH — official) spent the night building the case that Falih al-Fayyadh should resign over unanswered strikes on PMF headquarters, as today's militia digest sets out, and on the ground PMF sites in Diyala were evacuated over unidentified aircraft, Iraqi forces arrested the intelligence chief of Harakat al-Nujaba (Iran-aligned Iraqi militia), according to a source cited by The New Region, and another senior Nujaba figure was detained in Dhi Qar.

On the economy, the state oil marketer SOMO is seeking safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz for Iraqi crude exports, and Baghdad is turning to non-oil revenue as the Hormuz crisis deepens. A new gas processing plant opened at the Faihaa oil field and Halfaya is processing 190 million cubic feet of gas for the grid, though Rudaw reported that more generation has so far meant more waste and the same shortages. The Oil Ministry removed Baghdad's fuel distribution director; a large fire broke out at a fuel depot near Sulaimaniyah, which Shafaq located in the Tanjaro area of Sulaymaniyah. Iran's central bank governor is in Baghdad to recover $11 billion and expand $12 billion in trade.

On the domestic front, Saudi Arabia renewed its invitation for the Iraqi prime minister to visit Riyadh, lawmakers are pushing to freeze the provincial councils again, and thousands of graduates protested in Baghdad demanding public-sector employment, Rudaw reported from the demonstration. Al-Rasheed Bank dismissed any role of its own in the fake employee payroll case, and Iraqi intelligence warned of a plot to assassinate Supreme Judicial Council head Faiq Zidan.

THINGS TO WATCH
Tehran gives Baghdad a formal answer on the Erbil strikesmedium likelihoodhigh impactIraq's foreign minister has asked Tehran for an official explanation, and Iran's foreign minister has so far offered only a warning about false-flag ploys.
Baghdad takes the Erbil drone case to the UN, or declines tolow likelihoodhigh impactThe KRG has publicly urged Baghdad to bring the drone attacks before the United Nations, so either a filing or a refusal should surface.
An emergency session of the Iraqi parliament is held in Erbilmedium likelihoodmedium impactIraqi MPs have called for the session over the strikes; either a date and quorum are set or the call lapses.
Iran's parliament speaker arrives in Baghdadhigh likelihoodmedium impactShafaq reported the visit set for Wednesday, the day after Baghdad demanded an Iranian explanation for the Erbil strikes.
Parliament votes on freezing the provincial councilsmedium likelihoodmedium impactLawmakers are pushing the freeze again, and a floor vote or a shelved reading would show whether the push has the numbers.
VIEW THE COMPLETE BRIEFING →ALL EDITIONS →