TOP 10 IRAQ WAR DEVELOPMENTS — PAST 24 HOURS
Date: September 26, 2026 (compiled ~21:53 UTC)
Note: Coverage window widened slightly (roughly Sept 24-26) where needed to
capture the genuinely distinct threads of the fast-moving Sept 30 coalition
withdrawal / militia disarmament story; items are ordered by significance,
not strictly by publication time.
- Iraq revises militia disarmament deadline to June 2027 as Sept 30 coalition exit nears
- PM Ali al-Zaidi announced a revised, phased disarmament framework at the UN General Assembly after Baghdad retreated from its original hard Sept 30 target
- New timeline: a 90-day mutual freeze on militia activity starting Sept 30, with full weapons handover pushed to June 2027
- Cooperating factions include Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Kataib Imam Ali, and Saraya al-Salam (detached from Muqtada al-Sadr’s movement in May)
Source: Eastern Herald (https://easternherald.com/2026/09/25/iraq-militia-disarmament-pmf-zaidi-deadline/)
- Hardline Iran-backed factions reject deadline, demand full US withdrawal first
- Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba refused Baghdad’s original Sept 30 deadline outright
- They countered with a proposed two-year freeze on attacks that would let them keep their organizational structures and command chains intact
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio met PM al-Zaidi on Sept 22 to press for compliance ahead of the US pullout
Source: Eastern Herald (https://easternherald.com/2026/09/25/iraq-militia-disarmament-pmf-zaidi-deadline/)
- US hands over Baghdad airport diplomatic hub to Iraqi government
- US Charge d’Affaires Steven Fagin and Iraqi Deputy FM Mohammed Hussein Bahr Al Uloom signed the transfer at a ceremony at Iraq’s Foreign Ministry
- The Diplomatic Support Centre, built on the former US Victory Base site, moves to full Iraqi control
- Comes days before the Sept 30 deadline for full US-led coalition withdrawal; PM al-Zaidi called Oct 1 the start of a phase “free of foreign military presence”
Source: The National (https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2026/09/25/us-signs-deal-to-hand-over-diplomatic-hub-at-baghdad-airport-to-iraqi-government/)
- Turkey to hand over Bashiqa-Zelikan base to Iraq in gradual pullout
- Turkish forces will gradually transfer their Bashiqa-Zelikan camp, Ankara’s base furthest from its own border, to Iraqi federal control
- In exchange, Iraq pledged to remove armed groups from Sinjar that Turkey views as threats, including the PKK-linked Sinjar Resistance Units, and extend full state authority there
- Turkey set up the base in 2015 against ISIS but has kept forces in northern Iraq mainly for anti-PKK operations
Source: Associated Press via WRAL (https://www.wral.com/news/ap/200c0-turkey-will-hand-over-key-base-in-iraq-in-a-gradual-troop-withdrawal-deal/)
- Iraq-Iran air links collapse under new US aviation sanctions
- Baghdad, Najaf, Erbil and Sulaimaniyah airports suspended all flights to and from Iran after Washington barred global firms from doing business with Iranian carriers
- Iran’s Civil Aviation Authority retaliated by ordering domestic airlines to stop selling tickets to Iraq, especially the Najaf route, effective Sept 25
- Stranded travelers now face 12+ hour overland transfers; the UAE has also suspended Iranian carrier operations
Source: Al Jazeera (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/25/iraqi-airports-halt-iranian-flights-after-new-us-aviation-sanctions)
- Iran-backed “Resistance” factions threaten nationwide airport sit-ins over flight ban
- Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Kataib Hezbollah and the Badr Organization call the flight suspension US-driven economic warfare on Iran
- Nujaba commander Akram al-Kaabi warned “we will not wait long” before organizing sit-ins if flights don’t resume
- Kataib Hezbollah’s Abu Ala al-Walai said it is “not fitting” for Iraq to join “an unjust siege on Iran”
Source: Tehran Times (https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/530441/Iraqi-Resistance-threatens-nationwide-sit-ins-over-US-pushed)
- Baghdad seeks US exemption as clergy and lawmakers protest flight ban
- PM al-Zaidi’s office is in direct talks with Washington for a humanitarian carve-out covering medical, education, religious-pilgrimage and civilian travel
- The suspension disrupts roughly 100,000 Iraqi students studying in Iran and Shia pilgrimage traffic between the two countries
- Dozens of Najaf Hawza seminary teachers and students protested Saturday; lawmakers in Basra held a conference warning of harm to patients, students and the economy
Source: Al Jazeera (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/26/iraq-seeks-us-exemption-from-ban-on-iranian-flights)
- War has drained $60 billion from Iraq’s oil revenue since February
- Iraq has lost roughly $60bn in oil revenue since the US-Israeli war on Iran began, unable to export about 90% of its oil through normal Gulf routes
- Imported goods are up 25-30% in price; the dollar has strengthened from about 1,540 to 1,575-1,600 dinars on the parallel market
- Central Bank foreign reserves have fallen from roughly $106bn before the war to about $80bn by late August
Source: Al Jazeera (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/26/iran-war-squeezes-iraqs-economy-as-oil-revenues-fall-and-prices-rise)
- Liquidity crunch delays Iraq’s September public-sector salaries
- Iraq has not released September salary funding to any ministry, with a monthly obligation of 7.8 trillion dinars (about $5.96bn) against a shortfall of roughly 3.3 trillion dinars ($2.52bn)
- The government plans to borrow over 3 trillion dinars ($2.29bn) from local banks to cover the gap
- Oil revenue makes up about 79% of state income; the IMF has flagged Iraq’s exposure to revenue shocks through 2030
Source: Hatha Alyoum, citing Shafaq News (https://en.hathalyoum.net/articles/297382)
- Analysts warn Sept 30 disarmament deadline has no real enforcement teeth
- The deadline sets no clear mechanism for who takes physical custody of weapons from non-compliant factions or what legal consequences apply to armed groups holding parliamentary seats
- Security analyst Adnan al-Kinani warns the deadline “can be declared enforceable without being enforceable against the parties that matter most”
- Holdout factions are conditioning compliance on complete US military departure and guarantees against future intervention
Source: Shafaq News (https://www.shafaq.com/en/Report/Iraq-s-September-30-weapons-deadline-leaves-terms-of-disarmament-unresolved)
About The Author
