Kurds

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, right, meets with US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack, in Baabda, east of Beirut, July 7, 2025.

Analysis

Lebanon key to Trump plan for turnaround in Middle East

The final "This Week" column reflects on US policy toward Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Gaza.

Andrew Parasiliti

By Andrew Parasiliti

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, national security

US soldiers patrol in Syria's northeastern city Qamishli, in the Hasakah province, mostly controlled by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, on Jan. 9, 2025.

Senate defense spending bill would restrict US troop drawdown from Syria

Washington plans to zero out stipends for Iraqi Kurdistan’s peshmerga forces but will continue funding Iraq’s Counter-Terrorism Service and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces through 2026.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Fighters with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) line up to put their weapons into a pit during a ceremony in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, on July 11, 2025.

Kurdish militants return abducted Turkish agents as fragile peace push continues

The handover is seen as a confidence-building measure, as Erdogan seeks a deal with militants to secure Kurdish support for extending his presidency beyond 2028.

Members of the Lebanese Kurdish community wave the flags of (L to R) the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), Women's Protection Units (YPJ), another showing jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan, and the flag of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), during a celebration marking the spring festival of Nowruz (Noruz) in Lebanon's coastal town of Damour, 24 kilometers south of Beirut, on March 24, 2019.

Analysis

Can Turkey dismantle PKK, push SDF integration while rewriting rules in Syria?

Ankara hopes for the PKK's disarmament and the SDF's integration under Damascus, but skepticism and risks remain.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Latest News

Analysis

Emboldened by Suwayda fallout, Syria’s Kurds hold their ground with Damascus

Mazlum Kobane, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks during the pan-Kurdish "Unity and Consensus" conference in Qamishli in northeastern Syria, on April 26, 2025.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

US envoy, Syria FM meet in Paris, seek Kurdish integration deal

US Syria envoy Tom Barrack, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani meet in Paris on July 25, 2025.

Syria turns to Turkey for military support as US envoy urges strategy rethink

Syrian security forces stand guard in front of the heavily damaged Syrian army and defense ministry headquarters complex in Damascus, following Israeli strikes on July 16, 2025.

2 Iranian border guards killed in Kurdistan province: What to know

A general view shows the Iranian-Iraqi border crossing point of Bashmakh in the Kurdistan province, March 3, 2007.

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

Iraqi Kurdistan government denies taking control of oil fields in Kirkuk

An oil company run by the Iraqi Ministry of Oil alleged that the Kurdistan Regional Government’s forces took over some oil fields in the disputed northern province.

PKK fighters guard a post bearing an image of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.

Kurdistan officials concerned about PKK, Iran and energy sector

High-ranking officials from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq have voiced concerns over the lack of effective collaboration from Baghdad and risks to security from the presence of the PKK.

Iraqi-Kurdistan

Iraqi election officials conduct the electronic count of votes at a polling station in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, Oct. 10, 2021.

Upcoming KRG election marred by political divisions

Due to the political dispute in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, the Oct. 1 regional parliamentary election is likely to be delayed.

Iraqi-Kurdistan

Syrian Kurds demonstrate on June 10, 2021, in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli.

Syrian Kurdish unity talks crumble as Turkey escalates anti-PKK campaign

The breakdown between sides serves Turkey’s agenda of keeping its Kurdish foes divided and weak.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson (R) and Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.

Russian ambassador to Iraq: ‘No objections’ to Kurdistan Region exporting gas to Europe

Elbrus Kutrashev spoke to the Kurdish news outlet Rudaw about plans to export natural gas from the autonomous part of northern Iraq to Europe in response to the war in Ukraine.

A general view shows a damaged mansion following an overnight attack in Erbil.

Iraqi Kurdistan hit by multiple missile attacks as threats rise

Attacks have increased against the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in recent months, targeting energy infrastructure while warning against continuing collaboration with Turkey.

Iraqi riot police protect the Turkish embassy in Baghdad on February 18, 2021.

Is Turkey behind border wall, Iraqi deployment in Sinjar?

Baghdad’s military moves in Sinjar, coinciding with a Turkish military operation in northern Iraq, and the construction of a wall along the border with Syria have rekindled fears among the local Yazidi population.

Iraqi-Kurdistan

An Iraqi Kurdish supporter of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) waves a flag bearing the portrait of Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan.

Intra-Syrian Kurdish tensions rise amid Turkey's new anti-PKK offensive

The latest flare-up further hampers US efforts to resume peace talks between the two major parties.

SAFIN HAMED/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey launches offensive against PKK targets in northern Iraq

In a critically timed spring offensive, Turkey has hit dozens of targets associated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party and killed 19 fighters.

blinken

Analysis

The Takeaway: Trump's revenge as Biden deal with Iran stymied by IRGC sanctions

Russia backs Syrian attacks on opposition; Turkish inflation soars as result of Ukraine war; Iran-linked mob attacks Kurdish party offices in Iraq; new generation runs for election in Lebanon; Egypt rallies Africa climate consensus.

Andrew Parasiliti

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Andrew Parasiliti , Elizabeth Hagedorn

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (R) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Analysis

Orban’s big win in Hungary bears lessons for Turkey’s staid opposition

While Turkey's opposition is seeing a rise in the polls, recent elections in Hungary provide an example for those who think a win is guaranteed.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Children stand next to a sign reading "To reconstruct it, do not leave Halabja alone" by the Martyrs' Cemetery in Halabja on March 16, 2022.

Halabja anniversary takes political turn

Thirty four years after Saddam Hussein's Baath regime launched a chemical attack on the city, resident's of Halabja feel they have been forgotten by Iraqi and Kurdish authorities.