Kurds

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.

Analysis

How Turkey's PKK amnesty law entwines Kurds' hopes with Erdogan's ambitions

The first legislation to emerge from direct negotiations with Abdullah Ocalan offers a path to ending Turkey's war with the PKK while potentially giving President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the votes he needs to remain in power for a third term.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa meets with Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani in Damascus, Aug. 3, 2026. IKRPresident/X

Iraqi Kurdish president’s meeting with Syria’s Sharaa signals shift in SDF dynamics

KRG President Nechirvan Barzani’s meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa underscored the Kurdistan Region’s growing role in Syria’s Kurdish politics.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi speaks during a meeting with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (not pictured) at the Pentagon on July 14, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia.

Zaidi to meet Erdogan as Turkey-Iraq ties take off, Kurds feel sidelined

The Iraqi prime minister's visits to Ankara and Riyadh underscore Baghdad's push to deepen regional ties as Turkey seeks closer cooperation on energy and security.

A Kurdish fighter from the Iranian Kurdish armed faction Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) stands with his rifle at a site near the Iraqi border with Iran in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, on March 8, 2026.

Interview

PJAK leader mocks Iran’s claim Turkey spiked US Kurdish-backed regime-change plan

The PJAK co-leader says he does not believe Washington or Israel would abandon a strategic objective as significant as toppling Iran's government because of Turkish objections.

Siamand Moeini

Siamand Moeini

PJAK Executive Council Member

Latest News

Iran's Araghchi reveals Turkey's role in thwarting Kurdish offensive

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaks during a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart following a meeting in Baghdad on June 28, 2026.

Analysis

Why Iran's Kurdish front is becoming a growing wartime concern

People wave flags of Kurdistan during a march in Erbil, Iraq, on April 21, 2026, expressing support for the unity of Iranian Kurdish parties and condemning Iranian missile strikes and military actions against Kurdish groups in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

3 IRGC members killed in twin attacks as Iran intensifies Kurdish crackdown

Members of the crowd wave Iranian flags during a funeral procession held for IRGC Navy Chief Alireza Tangsiri.

Culture

Amid political setbacks, Kurds shine at the World Cup

Germany's forward #26 Deniz Undav (2nd R), an ethnic Kurd, scores his team's first goal during the 2026 World Cup Group E football match between Germany and Ivory Coast at the Toronto Stadium in Toronto on June 20, 2026.

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

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 says he's ready to meet with Kurds brokering peace with PKK

Erdogan's willingness to engage with Kurdish leaders signals a potential shift in Turkey's stalled peace process with the PKK after years of tension and setbacks.

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) and SDF leader Mazloum Kobane sign an agreement in Damascus on March 10, 2025.

Analysis

Syria’s Kurds win big as Sharaa shakes hands with Kobane to save his own skin

The surprise deal between Syria’s interim president and the Kurdish leader marks a pivotal moment for the country’s Kurdish minority and shifts the balance of power amid escalating violence.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) meets with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) in Tehran, on July 19, 2022.

Analysis

Iran spooked by Turkey’s overtures to Kurds, rising role in Syria, Iraq

Iran and Turkey’s regional rivalry deepens as Ankara moves to make peace with the Kurds and expands its influence in Syria and Iraq at Tehran’s expense.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Ultraorthodox Jewish men speak to soldiers standing on an armored personnel carrier in the buffer zone that separates the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and Syria, near the Druze village of Majdal Shams, Feb. 27, 2025.

Analysis

As it courts Syria's Druze, will Israel counter Turkey or get cold shoulder?

Concerned over the growing influence of Turkey in Syria, Israel seeks ways to increase its own influence there, including renewing its partnership with the Druze.

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

TOPSHOT - Israeli Air Force F-15 and F-35 fighter aircraft fly over Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium on the outskirts of Beirut on February 23, 2025 during the funeral of slain Hezbollah leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine. Tens of thousands of mourners dressed in black vowed support for Hezbollah at the Beirut funeral of slain leader Hassan Nasrallah, after the group was dealt major blows in its last round of hostilities with Israel. The September killing of the charismatic leader, who led He

Analysis

Israel flexes muscles in Syria, Lebanon in warning to Sharaa, Hezbollah

The flyover during Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s funeral and the warnings this week by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reflect Israel’s concerns over its borders with both Lebanon and Syria.

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

Ocalan

Iraqi Kurds lend hand as PKK leader negotiates plan for peace with Turkey

Abdullah Ocalan is expected to urge his men to lay down their arms and end a more than 40-year insurgency against the Turkish state, capping talks launched in April last year between the rebel leader, PKK commanders and the Turkish government.

Sharaa Kobane

Analysis

Squeezed between Turkey and Sharaa, Syria's Kurds face stark choices

Syria’s Kurds risk losing autonomy amid Turkish opposition and uncertain US backing.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture