Kurds

Iran executes two men over January mosque arson amid trial outcry

Mehrdad Mohammadinia and Ashkan Maleki had allegedly been part of a group of demonstrators who targeted the Jafari Mosque in Tehran's Gisha neighborhood.

|ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
Demonstrators hold signs as they gather near the Francis Scott Key Bridge during rally in support of the Iranian people and to condemn the execution of political prisoners in Iran, in Washington, DC, on May 16, 2026.
A member of Komala of the Toilers of Kurdistan stands while holding a machine gun at a mountain base in Khalifan near Erbil, Iraq's Kurdistan region, on March 12, 2026.

Iran relentlessly targets Kurdish opposition in northern Iraq despite regional ceasefire - analysis

The attacks illustrate how Iran is seeking to keep up the pressure on Kurdish opposition groups. Many of these groups have forces and bases in the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Children hold signs on the day Syrian Kurds demonstrate to mark Kurdish Language Day, demanding constitutional recognition of the Kurdish language by the Syrian government, in Qamishli, Syria, May 14, 2026.

Syria’s limited Kurdish election exposes limits of Damascus’s democratic transition - analysis

Syria had already held types of limited elections in other areas of Syria last year. However, areas outside government control did not hold a vote.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
A fighter from the Iranian Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) takes part in a training exercise at a base near Erbil, Iraq, in February.

Kurds continue to be under fire even amid ceasefire, fear new deal may not stop Iranian attacks

The new talk of a possible deal that might involve Iran and the US could lead to pressuring Iraq's central government to rein in Iranian-backed militias.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN

Syria’s minorities question German, British silence on sectarian violence during Sharaa’s visit

Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani, was welcomed in Berlin on Monday, where he met with Chancellor Friedrich Merz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

APRIL 1, 2026ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa is welcomed by Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer ahead of their meeting at 10 Downing Street in central London, Britain, March 31, 2026.

Iranian regime faces pressure as Kurds, US strengthen cooperation - opinion

Kurdish forces and US military presence may shape the future of Iran’s opposition and regime stability.

MARCH 31, 2026ByNEVILLE TELLER
A fighter from the Iranian Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) takes part in a training exercise at a base near Erbil, Iraq, in February.

Did a leak to media save thousands of Kurdish lives in Iran war? - analysis

In the first days of the war, a number of reports in US media portrayed the Kurds as being armed by the US and also claimed they had launched an offensive against Iran.

MARCH 30, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Members of Komala of the Toilers of Kurdistan, a Kurdish Iranian dissident group, are seen at their military bases hidden among the mountains on March 12, 2026 in Khalifa, Erbil Province, Iraq.

Iran at a crossroads: No stability without the minorities - opinion

As Iran faces a historic turning point, its future stability depends on whether marginalized groups like the Kurds are finally included in government.

MARCH 29, 2026ByAMED MARDIN
Fighters from the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), an Iranian Kurdish opposition group, are pictured near the border with Iran in Iraq's Kurdistan Region, in the outskirts of Sulaimaniya, Iraq, June 21, 2025.

Why did Iranian-backed militia in Iraq extend ‘ceasefire’?

Kataib Hezbollah has extended its ceasefire on US targets in Iraq for five days, warning foreign forces to leave while US Iran talks continue.

MARCH 23, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
A flag of Iraq's pro-Iran paramilitary group Hezbollah Brigades (Kataib Hezbollah), flutters against the backdrop of people taking a swing ride at an amusement park during Eid al-Fitr celebrations, marking the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Baghdad on March 21, 2026.

A political solution needed: It will take more than air power to end the Iranian regime - opinion

To genuinely weaken the Iranian system requires a comprehensive strategy – one that places the political realities of the region’s peoples at its center.

MARCH 22, 2026ByAMED MARDIN
A plume of smoke rises after a strike on the Iranian capital Tehran, on March 3, 2026.

Kurds celebrate Nowruz amid Iran tensions, Ramadan overlap and regional unrest

While widely celebrated, the holiday holds particular cultural and political significance for Kurds throughout the Middle East and diaspora communities worldwide.

MARCH 21, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
People gesture near a bonfire during Nowruz celebrations in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey, March 21, 2026.

In Iraq, Iran’s proxy militias open a third front in war against the US and Israel

BEHIND THE LINES: Statistics indicate that a determined Iranian and allied campaign is indeed underway in Iraq, making the country a third front in the current war.

MARCH 21, 2026ByJONATHAN SPYER
FIRE RAGES outside the grounds of the US Embassy headquarters in Baghdad’s fortified ‘Green Zone’ earlier this week, following a drone and rocket attack according to security officials. Iraq was drawn into the Middle East war after having long been a proxy battleground between the US and Iran.

Kurds unite for a federal Iran: The only path to sustainable change - opinion

What comes after the regime is now the question that must be asked by both the people of Iran and the great powers.

MARCH 17, 2026ByANTHONY AVICE DU BUISSON
Iranian Kurdish fighters from the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) take part in a training session at a base on the outskirts of Erbil, Iraq February 12, 2026.

Iranian Kurdish dilemma: Should they fight for a free Kurdistan or risk being used? - opinion

As tensions rise with Iran, Kurds face a familiar dilemma: seize opportunity or risk repeating a long history of abandonment by global powers.

MARCH 17, 2026ByMEM HUSEDIN, JASON SHVILI
Kurdish coalition forces.