Kurds

SAFIN HAMID/AFP via Getty Images

Drone strike halts operations at Iraqi Kurdistan oil field: What to know

A second drone attack in as many days has suspended operations at an oil facility in Iraqi Kurdistan, with initial investigations pointing to Iran-aligned armed groups.

Barrack and Sharaa

'One road to Damascus': Syria's Kurds recoil as US envoy urges deal with Sharaa

Tom Barrack’s call for Kurdish integration under a central Syrian government reflects a shift in US policy, drawing concern from Kurdish leaders about their future autonomy.

THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS - JUNE 25: U.S. President Donald Trump (R) speaks with President of the Republic of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L), as they arrive for the North Atlantic Council Plenary Session on the second day of the 2025 NATO Summit on June 25, 2025 in The Hague, Netherlands. Among other matters, members are to approve a new defense investment plan that raises the target for defense spending to 5% of GDP. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Analysis

From Caucasus to Iraq: How Israel’s war hands Turkey edge over Iran

After the war with Israel, a wounded Iran opens new doors for Turkey from Iraq to the Caucasus, but advancing its agenda could rekindle their rivalry.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

STEPHANIE LECOCQ/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Will Israel seize opportunity for rapprochement with Syria?

Signs indicate that Israel might have a rare opportunity to hold productive dialogue with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and advance a security deal with Damascus.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Latest News

Turkey's spy chief heads for Iraq as PKK militants prepare to disarm

An Iraqi Kurdish man holds a flag with the portrait of jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan during a demonstration in the northern Iraqi Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah on Oct. 10, 2019 against the Turkish offensive in northeastern Syria.

Exclusive

US troops in Syria's Kurdish northeast will remain in single base near Rmeilan oil fields

A US soldier keeps watch during a patrol in Syria's northeastern city Qamishli, in the Hasakeh province, mostly controlled by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), on Jan. 9, 2025.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Exclusive

Ankara’s direct talks with Syrian Kurds began last year in Europe, continue in Turkey

Kurdish Syrians demonstrate in the Syrian eastern city of Qamishli to demand the release of the jailed founder of the Kurdistan Workers Party, Abdullah Ocalan, in Turkey, on May 29, 2025.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Exclusive

US Syria envoy Barrack calls Kurdish SDF chief Kobane as Turkey mulls meeting

RAMI AL SAYED/AFP via Getty Images

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Kurdish youths holds a poster of jailed PKK militant group leader Abdullah Ocalan during Newroz celebrations, on March 21, 2025, in Diyarbakir, Turkey.

Turkey unveils prison reform bill, but Kurds say it falls short

The proposed changes would expand conditional release for some inmates but fail to meet demands of the pro-Kurdish DEM Party amid peace efforts.

A handout picture from the Syrian state news agency SANA showing members of the security forces in Syria's coastal region

EU sanctions Sunni factions accused of violence against Syria’s Alawites, Kurds

As former rebel leaders take positions in the new Syrian government, Kurdish officials warn of renewed threats to their autonomy.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright speaks with Al-Monitor president Andrew Parasiliti at an Al-Monitor Global Institute event in Washington, DC, May 22, 2025.

US backs more energy investment in Kurdistan region: Energy secretary

Speaking at the Al-Monitor Global Institute event, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright signaled American support for further investment in Iraqi Kurdistan’s hydrocarbon resources.

Tom Nicholson/Getty Images

Macron after meeting Sharaa: Lifting Syria sanctions 'in everyone's interest'

French President Emmanuel Macron is rolling out the red carpet for Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in hopes of gaining regional influence.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gestures as he addresses a speech during the Justice and Development Party (AKP), as part of the 8th Ordinary Grand Congress at the Ankara Arena in Ankara, on Feb. 23, 2025.

Turkey’s Erdogan rebukes Syrian Kurds over decentralization calls, but keeps tone mild

The Turkish president's restrained comments hint at an evolving strategy toward Kurdish forces in Syria.

Syrian Kurds chant slogans and wave flags as they demonstrate in the northeastern city of Qamishli on March 14, 2025, against the new constitutional declaration announced by the interim government in Damascus the previous day.

Analysis

Syria’s Kurds reap benefits of Erdogan’s 'terror free Turkey' as Ankara halts attacks

Turkey’s softened stance signals a strategic shift in its approach to Syria’s Kurds and the PKK.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Raqqa

Feature

Nightlife rocks Raqqa as Syria’s Islamist leaders navigate power

A reopened nightclub in Raqqa spotlights the uneasy balance Syria’s new Islamist-led government is striking between ideology and public life.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Women are seen walking at the Roj Camp in northeast Syria, on April 8, 2025.

Exclusive

Syria's Kurds say Trump aid cuts are feeding radicalism in ISIS camps

In an interview at Syria’s Roj camp, the head of intelligence for the Women’s Protection Units warns that US funding cuts are fueling a resurgence of ISIS ideology among detained women and children, deepening an already volatile security crisis.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

A picture taken on Oct. 17, 2017, shows excess flammable gasses burning from gas flares at the Havana oil field, west of the multiethnic northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.

Exclusive

Iraq seeks more compensation from Turkey, 'blocks' reopening of Kurds' oil pipeline

Disputes over oil revenues and arbitration claims have kept the Kurdish pipeline closed.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

An Israeli soldier checks a Merkava battle tank deployed at a position in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights along the border with southern Syria on March 25, 2025. Israel's military said it carried out a second strike in Syria on March 25, in response to incoming fire from across the demarcation line, hours after Syrian authorities reported that at least five people had been killed as a result of Israeli shelling. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Are Lebanon, Syria ripe for peace with Israel or on cusp of more escalation?

While some Israeli leaders hope for normalized ties with Lebanon and Syria, others warn that the uncertainty of the current situation could become permanent or deteriorate.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Urmia

Analysis

How unrest in Iran's Urmia exposes deep-seated ethnic fault lines

The situation escalated as stick-wielding government loyalists chanted inflammatory slogans against Sunni Kurds, whose cultural celebrations coincided with a key Shiite mourning ritual.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Fidan Syria

Analysis

Turkey, alarmed by sectarian clashes, steps up Syria role, criticizes Iran

As last week’s bloody clashes in Syria have deepened divisions among Turkish experts over the country's future, Turkey’s priorities in Syria remain focused on countering the SDF and combating ISIS.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security