Kurdistan

Iraq faces political crisis as, months after elections, they still lack clear leadership - analysis

Months after an election in Iraq, there is still no new prime minister or president. The reason for this is that political parties cannot agree on who to appoint.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
IRAQI LAWMAKERS attend the first session of the newly elected parliament, where members are set to be sworn in and begin the process of electing a speaker and two deputies, in Baghdad, Iraq, December 29, 2025.
The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) members pose for the camera as they celebrate Nowruz at the Jezhnikan Village around Baharka, Iraq, on March 18, 2025.

Iranian regime may target Kurdish opposition groups if war breaks out - analysis

Kurdish groups in Iran are moving to form a unified front and platform in opposition to the regime amid protests and US-Iran tensions.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
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.

Iraq's Kurds emerge as Middle East's key diplomatic players at Munich Security Council - analysis

The KRG has helped smooth the transition in eastern Syria by working with Damascus and the Syrian Democratic Forces, also hosting US forces and other anti-ISIS coalition forces.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Members of the Kurdish community and other protesters attend a demonstration against recent military clashes between the Syrian army and Kurdish forces, in Berlin, Germany, January 24, 2026.

Kurds’ monumental role in defeating ISIS deserves recognition - analysis

As the anti-ISIS Coalition embraces Syria, the Kurdish role in the war on ISIS in Iraq and Syria also deserves recognition.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN

Rojava defeated: Why Kurdish leadership must adapt or risk extinction - opinion

Kurdish political weaknesses and bad strategies are highlighted as risks for the region and Israel.

FEBRUARY 9, 2026ByAMED MARDIN
Members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) after US-backed alliance led by Syrian Kurdish fighters captured Deir el-Zor, in Syria December 7, 2024

Syria’s Sunni Islamist regime consolidates power, ending Kurdish autonomy

BEHIND THE LINES: The arrival of Syrian forces to Qamishli sets the seal on the effective demise of the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).

FEBRUARY 7, 2026ByJONATHAN SPYER
A MEMBER of the Kurdish Internal Security Forces rides on a car, while vehicles of the internal security forces of the Syrian government arrive in the city of Qamishli during the curfew, following an agreement between the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian government on Tuesday.

Syrian government announce integration deal with Kurdish forces

The sides announced the deal after Syrian government forces under President Ahmed al-Sharaa captured swathes of northern and eastern Syria from the SDF this month.

JANUARY 30, 2026ByREUTERS
Members of the Syrian security forces gather at a back of a vehicle outside al-Aqtan prison, where some Islamic State detainees are held, in Raqqa, Syria January 23, 2026.

A life and death market: Starlink smuggling to Iran surges

“Holders will be dealt with firmly,” said Iranian Brigadier-General Hossein Rahimi, head of the Economic Security Police.

JANUARY 29, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Starlink logo is seen on a smartphone in front of displayed Persian flag (Illustrative).

‘There will be hell in Syria’: Kurdish campaigner urges international intervention

Rebwar Hazhar, the chairman of Conservative Friends of Kurdistan, told The Jerusalem Post that Washington’s relationship with Damascus would only be temporary.

JANUARY 25, 2026ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
A member of the Syrian army walks with a weapon in the street as civilians flee following renewed clashes between the Syrian army and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in Aleppo, Syria, January 7, 2026

Follow the flow: Inside Iranian narco-trafficking in Iraqi Kurdistan - explainer

In recent years, the Sulaymaniyah governorate in eastern Iraqi Kurdistan has become a hub for Iranian narco trafficking.

JANUARY 25, 2026ByOBSIDIAN RESEARCH BUREAU
Kurdish internal security forces stand guard after seizing a quantity of captagon pills in Qamishli, Syria, March 25, 2025.

Iran escalates regional response to protests with strike on Kurdish forces - report

Video and photos from the site of the attack show the destruction of vehicles and other debris from the incident.

JANUARY 21, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Kurdish Peshmerga fighters affiliated with PAK train on January 18, 2026 near Erbil, Iraq.

Erdogan, Trump discuss Syria, Gaza in call as Syria announces ceasefire with Kurdish forces

Turkey separately weighed whether Erdogan should join the US leader's "Board of Peace" initiative.

JANUARY 21, 2026ByREUTERS
US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan gesture as they pose for a photo, at a world leaders' summit on ending the Gaza war, amid a U.S.-brokered prisoner-hostage swap and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, October 13, 2025.

'We'll fight side by side in Rojava,' Kurdistan Freedom Party leader tells 'Post' - interview

The Office of General Yazdanpanah criticised Western inaction regarding the situation for the Kurds in Syria, continuing: “Rojava will fall if we Kurds don’t consider their struggle as ours.”

JANUARY 20, 2026BySUSAN QUITAZ
GENERAL HUSSEIN Yazdanpanah of the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) in front of PAK troops.

US estimates 200 ISIS terrorists escaped Syrian prison, US official says

The Syrian ministry said Syrian army units and ministry special forces entered Shaddadi following the breakout.

JANUARY 20, 2026ByREUTERS, JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Syrian government forces are deployed near Al-Aqtan prison on January 19, 2026 in Raqqa, Syria.