Kurdish Policy Analysis

U.S. and Iraq strike urgent security deal as regional war fears grow New coordination committee aims to stop terror attacks, protect U.S. forces, and keep Iraq from becoming the next battlefield Is Iraq on the brink — or pulling back from chaos? Erbil, Kurdistan, March 27  Kurdish Policy Analysis – The United States and Iraq have agreed to deepen security coordination and prevent the country from being drawn into escalating regional conflict, following the inaugural meeting of a newly established High Joint Coordination Committee, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad said on Thursday. The committee, created under the long-standing strategic partnership between Baghdad and Washington, met for the first time on March 26, bringing together officials from both sides to strengthen cooperation across political, economic and security fields. In a joint understanding reached during the meeting, Iraq and the United States agreed to intensify efforts to prevent terrorist attacks and ensure that I...

Exiled Iranian Kurds Brace as Iraq’s Kurdistan Becomes Key Frontline in Tehran Conflict By  Kurdish Policy Analysis Erbil, Iraq, March 27 — As the war between Iran, the U.S., and Israel intensifies, Iraq’s Kurdish region has become a pivotal battleground. Iranian Kurdish groups, long exiled, are cautiously preparing for a potential power vacuum in Tehran while facing relentless attacks from Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. Thousands of Iranian Kurds in Iraq harbor hopes of returning home, contingent on the fall of Iran’s theocracy. Many fled decades ago from Kermanshah and other Kurdish-majority provinces, seeking refuge in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region. Despite decades of resettlement, they remain marginalized—lacking full civil rights and security guarantees. Armed Kurdish opposition groups, including the PAK, Komala, and Khabat factions, are mobilizing along the Iranian border but face severe constraints. Lacking drones, air support, and modern weaponry, these forces rel...

  Bloomberg: First Tanker Carrying Iraqi Oil Crosses Strait of  Hormuz Since the Start  of Iran War A supertanker carrying two million barrels of Iraqi crude oil has successfully passed through the Strait of Hormuz, marking the first observed transit of Iraqi oil via the strategic waterway since the outbreak of the Middle East conflict .  Ship‑tracking data compiled by Bloomberg indicated that the tanker — identified as the Omega Trader and operated by Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines — arrived in Mumbai, India in recent days after navigating the strait. The vessel’s last known signal before reaching India came from within the Arabian Gulf more than ten days earlier. The transit is notable because shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — a narrow chokepoint that normally carries around a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil trade — has been severely disrupted since the war began, with most commercial traffic effectively halted amid heightened military risks and geopolitica...

  Erbil, Kurdistan, March 24 – Iraq’s fragile peace, built over years of post-ISIS recovery, is rapidly unraveling as a direct U.S.-Israeli offensive against Iran forces the country back into the crosshairs of a regional conflagration . The escalation reached a critical point late Tuesday when Iranian-allied Shiite militias launched a major assault on the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad—the most significant attack on the diplomatic mission in years. Concurrently, missiles and drones targeted locations in the capital and  Erbil  , the seat of the Kurdish regional government, marking a "worst-case scenario" for Iraqi leaders who had spent the last year championing a unified national identity . For nearly two decades, Iraq has served as a primary theater for proxy warfare. However, the recent outbreak of full-scale hostilities between a U.S.-Israeli coalition and Tehran has uniquely threatened Iraq’s nascent stability. Between late January and March 2026, coalition forces e...

 Is the Kurdistan Region Becoming the Next Strategic Hub of the Middle East?      The Middle East is undergoing one of the most significant geopolitical transformations since the early 2000s. Wars, shifting alliances, economic pressures, and changing global energy dynamics are reshaping the region’s political landscape. In this evolving environment, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq faces both unprecedented challenges and historic opportunities. 1. Kurdistan as a Strategic Geopolitical Actor Located between major regional powers — Iran , Turkey , Syria , and the rest of Iraq — the Kurdistan Region occupies one of the most sensitive geopolitical crossroads in the Middle East. In the coming decade, the region could evolve from a semi-autonomous territory into a crucial diplomatic bridge between competing powers. Its relative stability compared to surrounding areas gives it an advantage as a hub for diplomacy, trade, and international engagement. Cities like Erbil an...

     ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Baghdad is in talks with Erbil to export some of Kirkuk’s oil through the Kurdistan Region’s pipelines with Turkey, Iraq’s oil minister said Saturday, while a senior Kurdish official said that the federal government must lift the trade embargo on the Region before an agreement can be reached.    Iraqi oil minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani told The New Region that federal government is in talks with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to transfer oil from the Region’s pipelines to    Kirkuk’s Ceyhan pipeline, which flows into Turkey, to resume exports from the key conduit.   Since the US and Israel launched their military campaign against Iran in late February, Tehran in retaliation has targeted neighbouring countries and shut the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway responsible for one fifth of the world’s oil.    Iraq has been severely affected by the disruption in oil transport through the Gulf.   ...