The Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq has faced more than 1,000 Iranian missile and drone attacks, while Kurdish leaders continue trying to cool tensions between Tehran, Damascus and Washington. At the 2026 Middle East Research Institute (MERI) Forum in Erbil, they described a region absorbing fire as it brokers talks behind the scenes.
Under Fire, Still Mediating
Iran has attacked the Kurdistan Region roughly 1,000 times, largely because Iranian Kurdish opposition groups are based in northern Iraq. Despite the barrage, Kurdish leaders reached out to both Iran and the US. They also worked to broker talks between Damascus and Kurds in eastern Syria.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, who are related and lead the Kurdistan Democratic Party, played a major role. Bafel and Qubad Talibani of the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) did too.
"We are very pleased today to see that Kurds are part of the solution - whether in Syria, as marked by the presence of Comrade Mazloum [Abdi] here, or in Iraq, where we are part of the solution," said Qubad Talabani, Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Rudaw reported that he told MERI, "Erbil expressed readiness to facilitate discussions between Kurds and the countries where they live in the Middle East, including in Iran." He added: "As political forces in the Kurdistan Region, we stand ready for any coordination and role assigned to us."
Rudaw reported that the region made a significant contribution to integrating the now-dissolved Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into the Syrian state system, while Nechirvan Barzani played a key role in talks in Syria and Turkey. SDF commander Mazloum Abdi praised the Kurdistan Region for its support. The KRG worked to ensure Kurds wouldn't be harmed in Syria.
Washington's Departure
US forces had concentrated in the KRG before leaving on September 30, about two weeks before this report. The US was also leaving Syria in 2025, one year ago, and the US-backed, Kurdish-led SDF was expected to integrate with the new government in Damascus. Washington's armed and backed Kurdish-led force has now dissolved, and the American troops that anchored northern Iraq are gone.
Geography places the region at the center of it all. Northern Iraq borders Iran, Turkey and Syria. Turkey is conducting peace talks with the PKK, which also has forces in the KRG.
In March, media reports suggested the US was willing to arm Kurdish Iranian groups. At least six exist, including the centrist KDPI and PAK and the more left-leaning Komala and PJAK. PJAK is often believed to be closely linked to the PKK. Another group, Khabat, belongs to the Kurdish Iranian opposition alliance. The groups formed that alliance in January and February, right before the US and Israeli strikes began.
Pressure on the Opposition
Not everything has gone smoothly. Nechirvan Barzani criticized Iranian Kurdish opposition groups hosted in the KRG, some closer to the KDP or PUK. "Rojhelat's [western Iran's Kurdish region] opposition forces, unfortunately, behaved very irresponsibly," he said at MERI. Iran has made clear it will continue its attacks until the KRG assures Tehran that these groups pose no threat.
The Amargi, a local grassroots media network, reported that the parties had begun preparations, with former peshmerga returning from abroad and light weapons and vehicles acquired. It said those preparations don't substantiate Trump's allegations that Kurds diverted or kept weapons intended for Iranian protesters. The parties rejected the accusations, which have not been publicly substantiated.
For some Iranian Kurds, the Amargi said, the 39-day war seemed to offer a long-awaited opportunity after what they considered a missed chance during the Jin, Jiyan, Azadi (Women, Life Freedom) movement. They hoped a weakened regime would pave the way for a ground operation. Events didn't unfold as expected.
The parties explained their decision not to intervene by citing the lack of international guarantees and protection. Without air cover, external coordination and a broader uprising in Iran, they feared an operation would fail and leave civilians exposed to retaliation. A recent KDPI statement indicated it wouldn't send its forces over the border. KDPI members have lived in the KRG for decades, and Iran has frequently targeted their facilities near Koya.