Kurdish controlled syria

Iraqi Kurdistan emerges as a key diplomatic bridge between US and Iran - analysis

Nechirvan Barzani’s ties with Washington, Tehran and regional Kurdish actors have positioned Iraqi Kurdistan as a key diplomatic bridge.

AUGUST 17, 2026|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN

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.

Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi speaks during a parliamentary session to vote in a new government headed by Ali al-Zaidi as prime minister, at the parliament headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq, May 14, 2026.

Iraq's PM arrives in Washington as US presses Baghdad on Iran-backed militias - analysis

Iraq is already a kind of frontline between the US and Iran. After the US and Israel began strikes on Iran on February 28, the Iranians operationalized militias in Iraq.

JULY 14, 2026|BySETH 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.

The strategic misjudgment of the Kurdish factor in Iran’s war - opinion

While Washington initially expressed rhetorical support for the Kurdish opposition, it later issued more cautious messages discouraging active Kurdish involvement in the conflict.

JUNE 28, 2026|ByVEYSI DAG

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.

Syria’s limited Kurdish election exposes limits of Damascus’s democratic transition - analysis

Syria had already held types of limited elections in other areas of Syria last year. However, areas outside government control did not hold a vote.

MAY 25, 2026|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN

The US and the Kurds – from being welcomed to being rejected with stones

Today, history is being repeated against another indigenous population in the same part of the world: the Kurds.

NOVEMBER 4, 2019BySORAN PALANI

Displaced Kurds stuck at a border after a Turkish offensive in northeastern Syria, wait to try cross to the Iraqi side, at the Semalka crossing, next Derik city, Syria, October 21, 2019

Turkish pro-gov media orders Qatar to 'weed out' critical journalists

Editorial says Turkey and Qatar are ‘strategic partners’ and accuses Israel and other countries of ‘ganging up’ on Qatar

NOVEMBER 4, 2019BySETH J. FRANTZMAN

Turkish soldiers stand on top of tanks near the Turkish-Syrian border in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, October 15, 2019

Turkey's Erdogan may call off U.S. trip after Congress votes

Erdogan is due in Washington on Nov. 13 at President Donald Trump's invitation, but said last week that the votes put a "question mark" over the plans.

NOVEMBER 4, 2019ByREUTERS

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump talks to Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium in July.

UN open to Turkish plan for northern Syria as 300,000 Kurds forced out

It now appears that NATO, the UN, Russia and other world powers will work to prevent the return of people who fled Turkey’s offensive and to settle others in their place.

NOVEMBER 4, 2019BySETH J. FRANTZMAN