12 January – Hundreds of Iraqis attend protests over deaths of two reporters in Basra.[4]
21 January – An Iraqi female protester was shot dead by government forces. 49-year-old Jannat Madhi was working in a medical team giving help to wounded demonstrators. She was shot around mid-night in the Iraqi southern port of Basra.[5]
1 March – Prime minister candidate Mohammad Allawi withdraws his candidacy. Deadlock over forming a new government continues.[10]
5 March – First two COVID-19 related deaths reported in Baghdad Iraq, with a 3rd potential death in the Kurdistan region. [11]
11 March – 2 rockets hit the Taji military camp in Baghdad, killing 2 American soldiers, one British soldier and wounding another 12.[12]
17 March –
The Iraqi government announces lockdowns to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.[13]The protests that have lasted since October 2019 disperse for fears increasing the spread of the virus.[14]
President Barham Salih nominates ِAdnan Al-Zurfi as new prime minister.[15]
April
9 April – Adnan Al-Zurfi withdraws his candidacy for prime minister, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi is selected to replace him. [16]
Iraqi prime Mustafa Al-Kadhimi assumes office May 2020
May
7 May – The Iraqi parliament approves the cabinet of Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, ending months of political deadlock. [17]
July
6 July – Historian and researcher Hisham al-Hashimi is assassinated by unknown gunmen.[18]
23 July – Iraqi airports are reopened with strict health guidelines after weeks of closure due to COVID-19. [19]
August
20 August – Iraqi prime minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi completes his first official visit to Washington, where he met with American president Donald Trump and discussed American troops presence in Iraq.[20]
September
28 September – A wayward rocket intended for US troops posted at Baghdad airport hit and killed five children and two women all belonging to the same family. When the rockets hit, the children were playing outside their home. The latest attack intended to strike American interests was one of around 40 since early August. Several senior officials attended the funeral in a move to calm the tense situation.[21]
The World Bank said Iraq's poverty rate could double to 40 percent by the end of this year and that youth unemployment, currently standing at 36 percent, could rise to even higher numbers.[22]
October
1 October – Thousands of demonstrators gather in Baghdad and other cities to commemorate one year anniversary of the 2019 protests and demand real political change. [23]
31 October – A pipeline explosion near the city of Samawah in southern Iraq results in at least 3 people killed and more than 50 wounded.[24]
November
18 November –
Iraqi Yazidis select their new religious leader, Sheikh Ali Ilyas, in a ceremony at the city of Lalish.[25]
22 December – American president Donald Trump pardons 4 Blackwater contractors who were convicted for killing 14 Iraqi civilians at the Nisour Square massacre in 2007. The pardons sparked outrage in Iraq and elsewhere. [29]
^Davison, John; Hafthi, Ali (February 5, 2020). Maclean, William (ed.). "Clashes in Iraq's Najaf kill 8 after cleric's followers storm protest camp: medics". Reuters. At least eight people were killed in clashes in Iraq's southern city of Najaf on Wednesday after supporters of populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr stormed an anti-government protest camp, medical and security sources said. The medical sources said at least 20 more were wounded in the violence but did not provide further details.
