Kurds

Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government, gives a press conference in the autonomous region's capital Arbil on June 25, 2025.

Interview

Barzani calls for enhanced air defense for Kurdistan Region to counter drone attacks

Iraqi Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani backs US-led regional economic integration efforts and lauds US partnership in an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor.

Masrour Barzani

Masrour Barzani

KRG Prime Minister

Smoke rises after explosions were heard and air defences activated near the airport in Erbil, on July 24, 2026.

Explainer

Why Iran targeted Barzani family stronghold in Iraqi Kurdistan

Iran’s Kurdish opposition groups have turned Iraqi Kurdistan into a frontline in the war.

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.

Latest News

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

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.

Interview

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

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.

Siamand Moeini

Siamand Moeini

PJAK Executive Council Member

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

Turkey's Foreign Affairs Minister, Hakan Fidan delivers a press conferense after his meeting with his Greek counterpart in Athens, on November 8, 2024. (Photo by Aris MESSINIS / AFP) (Photo by ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images)

With Assad gone, Turkey urges Syrian opposition to unite, warns against PKK

The top Turkish diplomat struck a composed tone following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad and called for unity among the Syrian opposition.

Displaced Syrian Kurds drive a vehicle loaded with belongings on the Aleppo-Raqqa highway.

Clashes in strategic city of Hama intensify as Syrian military battles rebels

Rebel forces moved toward the central city of Hama after taking Aleppo, while the government sent reinforcements to the area.

Jihadists drive on the international M5 highway in the area Zarbah which was taken over by anti-government fighters on November 29, 2024, as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) jihadists and allied factions continue their offensive in Syria's northern Aleppo province against government forces.

Analysis

What's ahead for HTS as Syria, Russia strike back and Turkey plots next move?

The Syrian government claims to have repelled the HTS advance on Hama, but pro-rebel sources claim the opposite.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

One of the two top political leaders of the Syrian Kurdish alliance and co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council Ilham Ahmed attends a press conference, in Paris, on Dec. 21, 2018.

Interview

Syrian Kurd FM Ilham Ahmed says PKK leader Ocalan's words of 'vital importance'

Ilham Ahmed, the de facto foreign minister of the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, spoke to Al-Monitor about the latest developments in the region, including Turkey's new initiative to end its conflict with the outlawed PKK.

Ilham Ahmed

Ilham Ahmed

Co-President of the Executive Council of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria

Burak Kara/Getty Images)

Analysis

Are Turkey's Erdogan and his nationalist ally about to fall out over Kurds?

For weeks assorted Turkish officials have been leaking claims that there is indeed daylight between the president and his ally of a sort that may even result in an unraveling of their nine-year partnership that has helped keep the AKP in power.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

Trump or Harris: Who do Kurds want as next US president?

In Turkey, as elsewhere around the globe, the outcome of the US presidential election is of great interest, and the country's 16 million ethnic Kurds in particular are likely watching the race closely.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Members of the police carry the coffins of victims of the attack that occurred on Oct. 23, 2024, at the Turkish Aviation Company facility, during a funeral ceremony on Oct. 24, 2024, in Ankara, Turkey.

Turkey’s Erdogan signals deadly attack won’t derail opening to Kurdish dialogue

The Turkish president said the deadly attack on a defense firm outside Ankara targeted a new political climate in the country.

Thick smoke billows from a raging fire at a storage tank of the al-Awda oil field facility near al-Qahtaniyah in northeastern Syria close to the Turkish border on Dec. 24, 2023, a day after a reported Turkish strike.

Turkey pummels Kurds in Syria over Ankara attack amid overtures to PKK leader Ocalan

The timing of the attacks has spurred speculation that hawks on both sides are seeking to torpedo efforts to end the conflict between the Turkish army and the PKK.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets KRG leader Nechirvan Barzani in Ankara, on Oct. 16, 2024.

Turkey’s Erdogan meets KRG President Barzani ahead of Iraqi Kurdistan vote

Barzani’s visit comes just amid Turkey's nascent attempt to use diplomacy, alongside ongoing military measures, to solve the 40-year-old Kurdish conflict.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of Turkey's invasion of Cyprus on July 20, 2024 in occupied northern Nicosia, Cyprus.

Turkey’s Erdogan confirms 'political softening' with pro-Kurdish party

The statement comes amid a public debate on the possible revival of a process aiming to settle the country’s 40-year-old Kurdish problem through peaceful means.

Supporters of the pro-Kurdish Peoples DEM Party attend a rally for the Turkish Municipal elections to be held on March 31, in Esenyurt Square, in Istanbul on Feb. 25, 2024.

Exclusive

Turkey mulls peace talks with Kurds amid fears of Israeli strike on Iran

Three well-placed sources told Al-Monitor that exploratory talks for a possible resumption of negotiations between the Turkish government and imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan were already underway.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Turkey's right-wing Nationalist Movement Party leader Devlet Bahceli greets the crowd during the party's 12th Ordinary Grand Congress in Ankara, on March 18, 2018.

Analysis

A surprise handshake in Turkey's parliament: Nationalist-Kurdish thaw or political maneuver?

The escalating conflict in the region — among other considerations — has prompted unexpected handshakes between two foes in Turkey: pro-Kurdish DEM Party lawmakers and Nationalist Movement Party leader Devlet Bahceli.

Ezgi Akin

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