Iraq

Voices from the Arab Press: Iran, the Kurds, and the future of Arab power

A weekly selection of opinions and analyses from the Arab media around the world.

|ByTHE MEDIA LINE
VOTING IN Egypt’s parliamentary elections, in Giza, Nov. 2025.
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.

The long way home: Free after decade in Iraqi prison, Benjamin Hassin begins new life in Jerusalem

DIASPORA AFFAIRS: Just over a month ago, on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, Benjamin Hassin landed on Israeli soil for the first time in 12 years.

|ByMATHILDA HELLER
Protesters wave Iranian pre-Islamic revolution of 1979 and shout slogans during a demonstration in front of the Brandenburger Gate as the sun shines in Berlin, on March 1, 2026.

Human rights group petitions Germany to investigate Iranian crimes against ethnic minorities

International human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have repeatedly documented the regime’s use of unlawful killings, torture, sexual violence, and arbitrary detention.

|ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
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.

Iran strikes Iranian opposition group Kurdistan Freedom Party in latest attack - analysis

This comes after Iran has targeted the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), Komala, and Khabat groups in recent weeks, and is also pressing Iraq to expel Kurdish Iranian opposition groups.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN

US announces new sanctions against networks aiding Hezbollah, other Iranian proxies in Middle East

The sanctions targeted entities the US Treasury said supported the Iraqi-based Kataib Hezbollah and Lebanon-based Hezbollah.

SEPTEMBER 11, 2026ByREUTERS
Hezbollah members salute and raise the group's yellow flags during a funeral.

Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks, what has happened to al-Qaeda? - explainer

While al-Qaeda suffered losses and dislocation after the invasion of Afghanistan, its profile rose, and it expanded massively in the years that followed.

SEPTEMBER 10, 2026ByREUTERS
Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri

Panama tanker carrying Iraqi fuel oil struck by drone in Iraqi waters

Iraqi rescue boats extinguished a fire aboard the tanker, New Andros, and there were no reports of casualties, port officials told Reuters.

SEPTEMBER 9, 2026ByREUTERS
Drone view of oil tanker HELGA berthed at one of Iraq's southern offshore oil terminals near Basra as it prepares to load crude oil, becoming the second vessel to arrive since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, April 24, 2026.

International Jewish-Kurdish conference kicks off in London

Jewish and Kurdish leaders gathered in London for a two day conference aimed at turning 2,700 years of shared history into stronger political, cultural, academic, and diaspora cooperation.

SEPTEMBER 7, 2026ByALEX CARSON
Jewish–Kurdish Relations in a Changing Middle East: History, Identity and Future Cooperation, London, UK

Iran attacks Kurdish Iranian opposition group in Iraq - analysis

The attack comes amid numerous reports in Kurdish media that the US is withdrawing from Iraq, including forces in the Kurdistan Region. This includes reports of air defenses being withdrawn.

SEPTEMBER 7, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Damaged buildings after, what the security sources say, a drone struck an arms depot in an attack on the headquarters of an Iranian Kurdish opposition group in which two fighters were wounded, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in the town of Dekala in Iraq's Kurdistan region March 4, 2026.

Voices from the Arab Press: China’s Iran dilemma, Israel elections, Hezbollah US talks

A weekly selection of opinions and analyses of the Arab media around the world.

SEPTEMBER 6, 2026ByTHE MEDIA LINE
THEN-IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (L), Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang, and Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud meet in Beijing, April 2023.

US withdrawal from Iraq will be watched closely by Iran-backed militias, Kurds - analysis

Iranian-backed militias and Iran have already targeted the Kurdistan region with more than 1,000 drone and missile attacks since February 2026, and it will be vulnerable if the US withdraws.

SEPTEMBER 6, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Damaged buildings after, what the security sources say, a drone struck an arms depot in an attack on the headquarters of an Iranian Kurdish opposition group in which two fighters were wounded, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in the town of Dekala in Iraq's Kurdistan region March 4, 2026.

Iraq completes investigation into thousands of ISIS detainees formerly held in Syria - report

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had been holding them until the SDF and Syrian government agreed to integrate, at which time US Central Command decided to facilitate a mass transfer.

SEPTEMBER 5, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Women and children queue during a joint security operation by Syria's Kurdish Internal Security Police Force, also known as Asayesh, and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) at Camp Roj where foreign relatives of people suspected of belonging to the Islamic State (IS) group are held.

The Kurds rose as Syria and Iraq collapsed - now, their fortunes are reversing

BEHIND THE LINES: If and when the current strategy fails, the Kurds may need to be reached again. Hopefully, by the time this occurs, they will be able to take advantage of the moment in full.

SEPTEMBER 5, 2026ByJONATHAN SPYER
KURDISH FIGHTERS from the Qamishli Brigade on parade last month.

Iraq emerges as Iran’s economic lifeline amid tighter US sanctions

Iraq’s close political and commercial ties with Iran, give Tehran access to trade routes, currency markets, and commercial networks that are difficult for US authorities to monitor.

SEPTEMBER 4, 2026ByHUDHAIFA IBRAHIM / THE MEDIA LINE
Iran and Iraq map. Ilustration.