Kurdistan

Rubio holds call with Iraqi Kurdish leader, State Department says

The war in Iran has raised oil prices and shaken global markets.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio walks on the day of classified briefings for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on the situation in Iran, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, March 3, 2026.
SMOKE RISES from the site of a drone crash on the outskirts of Erbil, Iraq, March 12, 2026.

Iran-backed Iraqi militias attack Kurdistan over 450 times since beginning of war

AN IRANIAN ballistic missile on display in Tehran.

Iran struggles to assert control in Iraq amid strikes, militia attacks, tensions - analysis

Kurdistan Regional Government Peshmerga at a mountain outpost. September 19, 2019.

Iran-backed militias strike Kurdistan, killing Peshmerga in northern Iraq


Why did Iranian-backed militia in Iraq extend ‘ceasefire’?

Kataib Hezbollah has extended its ceasefire on US targets in Iraq for five days, warning foreign forces to leave while US Iran talks continue.

A flag of Iraq's pro-Iran paramilitary group Hezbollah Brigades (Kataib Hezbollah), flutters against the backdrop of people taking a swing ride at an amusement park during Eid al-Fitr celebrations, marking the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Baghdad on March 21, 2026.

Kurds celebrate Nowruz amid Iran tensions, Ramadan overlap and regional unrest

While widely celebrated, the holiday holds particular cultural and political significance for Kurds throughout the Middle East and diaspora communities worldwide.

People gesture near a bonfire during Nowruz celebrations in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey, March 21, 2026.

In Iraq, Iran’s proxy militias open a third front in war against the US and Israel

BEHIND THE LINES: Statistics indicate that a determined Iranian and allied campaign is indeed underway in Iraq, making the country a third front in the current war.

FIRE RAGES outside the grounds of the US Embassy headquarters in Baghdad’s fortified ‘Green Zone’ earlier this week, following a drone and rocket attack according to security officials. Iraq was drawn into the Middle East war after having long been a proxy battleground between the US and Iran.

Iranian-backed militia in Iraq sends mixed messages about new attacks - analysis

Kataib Hezbollah said it might pause attacks on US targets in Iraq, but its strict and unlikely conditions suggest strikes could resume soon.

Members of the Hashd al-Shaabi gather in Basra, southern Iraq, to hold a memorial ceremony for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, carrying Khamenei posters and Hashd al-Shaabi and Kataib Hezbollah flags while chanting slogans in support of Iran on March 08, 2026.

Iraq turns to Kurdistan pipeline as Iran war chokes oil exports and economy - analysis

Baghdad has been seeking a deal to move oil through the Kurdistan Region to Turkey, but the Kurds want Iraq to lift the trade embargo it has imposed on the territory.

A drone view shows oil tankers loading crude oil at the Basra Oil Terminal in Iraqi territorial waters, off the coast of Basra, Iraq, August 5, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Aty

Iranian Kurdish dilemma: Should they fight for a free Kurdistan or risk being used? - opinion

As tensions rise with Iran, Kurds face a familiar dilemma: seize opportunity or risk repeating a long history of abandonment by global powers.

Kurdish coalition forces.

US-Israel airstrikes in Iran kill five civilians, including two children, Hengaw reports

Human rights group says it has gathered information on 310 civilians and 2,090 Iranian members of the security forces killed in two weeks of war.

Cars drive down a highway as smoke billows after overnight airstrikes on oil depots on March 8, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.

Baghdad-Erbil oil feud threatens Iraq economy as Hormuz route remains cut off - analysis

Iraq has been cut off from trade via the Strait of Hormuz as the war with Iran has developed over the last two weeks.

A drone view shows oil tankers loading crude oil at the Basra Oil Terminal in Iraqi territorial waters, off the coast of Basra, Iraq, August 5, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Aty

Rising militia strikes leave Washington with few good choices in Iraq - analysis

The US Embassy in Baghdad has been warning US citizens in Iraq about threats for two weeks, since the US and Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28.

A member of the Iraqi security forces mans a turret while on guard during a funerary procession for a slain member of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi, who was killed in a US-Israeli air strike in Mosul the previous evening, in Baghdad on March 8, 2026.

Iran-backed militias escalate drone attacks on US, Kurdistan targets in Iraq

Iran is also targeting Kurdish opposition groups in the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq.

Iraqi security forces stand guard during a funerary procession for a slain member of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi, or the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) in Baghdad on March 8, 2026.