Kurdistan

Trump says coming to big decision on whether to 'annihilate' Iran as regime shoots down US drones

Trump reportedly to meet Gulf leaders for Iran war talks next week • Trump says Iran “really wants” an agreement • Drone strikes Kurdish group opposed to IRGC in Iraq

|ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Interception recorded in northern Israel.
A woman hand holds a sign with drawings of a lion and an Iranian woman and the slogan Woman Life Freedom in Paris in France on January 18, 2026. Demonstration in support of the Iranian uprising against the Islamic and in favor of the return of Reza Pahlavi.

Mahsa Amini's legacy, four years after her murder by Iran's morality police - editorial

“Women’s problems are not limited to the hijab,” Fattahi said. “Freedom does not simply mean having the freedom to choose whether or not to wear a hijab. This is the most basic of women’s rights.”

|ByJPOST EDITORIAL
A man drives a Careem taxi car in Mosul, Iraq.

Israeli-Canadian Benjamin Hassin freed after 11 years in Iraqi prison

Israeli-Canadian Benjamin Hassin, now in his early 30s, was released from prison in Sulaymaniyah on Wednesday.

|ByMATHILDA HELLER
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-linked drone attacks target Kurdish opposition groups in northern Iraq

A Kurdish Iranian opposition group said Iran targeted its headquarters in northern Iraq, the latest in a series of attacks on anti-Tehran factions.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN

Prisoners protest in Syria's Kobani after Kurdish soldier's murder test al-Sharaa's - analysis

This is the latest in Syria's tensions, while it also reveals the concerns many Kurds have about how the new government resolves crises.

SEPTEMBER 12, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa listens to French President during a joint press conference after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on May 7, 2025.

Kurdish expert: Israel knows how to recognize a nation. It should recognize ours - opinion

Kurds are the largest unrecognized nation on earth. Not unrepresented, which is a lesser condition. There is no seat, no flag at Turtle Bay, no ministry anywhere that receives our envoys as envoys.

SEPTEMBER 9, 2026ByMEM HUSEDIN
Nechirvan Barzani, the regional president of Iraqi Kurdistan, delivers a speech after casting his ballot in Arbil, the capital of Iraqi's northern autonomous Kurdish region, on November 11, 2025.

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.

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.

Iranian attacks on Iraqi Kurdistan aim to transform Iraq into buffer zone, spread war - analysis

Iran’s attacks seek to strike an area of Iraq that the regime assumes is not well protected, in a push to move fighting outside Iran and avoid insurrections inside.

SEPTEMBER 2, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
A member of the Kurdistan Free Life Party, known as PJAK, stands inside a tunnel at a site near the Iraqi border with Iran, on the outskirts of Penjwen, in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, Iraq, March 24, 2026.

Kurds in Syria, Iraq fight against 'Arabization' with language, but might need to push harder

Both in Syria and Iraq, there are rising reports of pushes for Arabic to become a main language and demographic changes in Kurdish areas, with officials needing to tackle these issues.

SEPTEMBER 1, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Children hold signs on the day Syrian Kurds demonstrate to mark Kurdish Language Day, demanding constitutional recognition of the Kurdish language by the Syrian government, in Qamishli, Syria, May 14, 2026.

As US considers cutting funds from Kurdish forces, concerns rise over stability in Middle East

The Peshmerga have played a key role over the years fighting ISIS and securing the autonomous Kurdistan Region. However, efforts to reform them have not proceeded as planned.

AUGUST 29, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
A group of young male and female Peshmergas belonging to the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), near one of their bases in the mountains of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, 35 miles from the Iranian border, on January 17, 2026.

Seven ancient Parthian tombs unearthed in Iraq’s Kurdistan region amid survey of 6,500 sites

"One of the [tombs] contained a clay coffin with a small headless figurine of a pregnant woman," Muhammad Lashkri, director of antiquities and heritage affairs in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, said.

AUGUST 29, 2026ByMIRIAM SELA-EITAM
Photo depicts a grave made of burnt clay found in Mosul Dam that is exhibited in Zakho Museum in Zakho, Kurdistan Region of Iraq on June 2, 2025.

Iran's attack on Kurdistan may signal new phase in Tehran's regional drone warfare - analysis

Iran’s drone strike on the Kurdistan Region may showcase new capabilities while warning Erbil and Washington that Tehran is willing to redraw regional red lines.

AUGUST 19, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Iranian Kurdish fighters from the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) take part in a training session at a base on the outskirts of Erbil, Iraq February 12, 2026.

Iran's drone strike on Kurds may be warning over Trump administration's backchannel, analyst says

Two drones targeted the office of Masrour Barzani, the Kurdistan Regional Government's prime minister, and the home of the region's intelligence chief in northern Iraq on Monday.

AUGUST 18, 2026ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
Nechirvan Barzani, President of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region, gives a joint press conference with France's Foreign Minister in Arbil, the regional capital, on February 5, 2026.