Kurdish controlled syria

Voices from the Arab Press: Iran, the Kurds, and the future of Arab power

A weekly selection of opinions and analyses from the Arab media around the world.

|ByTHE MEDIA LINE
VOTING IN Egypt’s parliamentary elections, in Giza, Nov. 2025.
DEMONSTRATORS RIDE through a street while waving Syrian flags during a rally in Hasakah, Syria, last Friday.

Syria’s Kurdish autonomy is fading as Arab unrest challenges Damascus’s control

BEHIND THE LINES: While the Kurdish-led authority was dissolved on paper, many of its institutions continued to function in reality.

|ByJONATHAN SPYER
Nechirvan Barzani, President of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region, gives a joint press conference with France's Foreign Minister in Arbil, the regional capital, on February 5, 2026.

Iran tensions, Syria talks put Iraqi Kurdistan at the center of Middle Eastern diplomacy - analysis

The Kurdistan Region is involved in a variety of discussions, in part due to its geographic position. It sits at the crossroads of major regional policies. 

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Israelis from Kurdish origin take part in a rally in support of the Kurdish referendum outside the American consulate in Jerusalem September 24, 2017

Israel, Kurdistan, and the hopes for a strong political alliance - opinion

In a twisted way, the closer Kurds and Jews get, and the more visible that becomes, the more people start seeing Kurds as another kind of Jew: in how they frame the Kurdish political struggle.

|ByMEM HUSEDIN

Prisoners protest in Syria's Kobani after Kurdish soldier's murder test al-Sharaa's - analysis

This is the latest in Syria's tensions, while it also reveals the concerns many Kurds have about how the new government resolves crises.

SEPTEMBER 12, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa listens to French President during a joint press conference after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on May 7, 2025.

Seven years after being displaced, Kurdish families return to Serekaniye - analysis

In 2019, the US briefly considered leaving Syria. It evacuated some posts in the area, not wanting to be in the middle of fighting. It took time for the area to stabilize.

SEPTEMBER 9, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Members of the all women Martyr Ayaz Çiya battalion staff checkpoints and stop vehicles in the Halko neighbourhood on February 8, 2026 in Qamishli, Syria.

After fighting ISIS, Kurdish women fighters search for a place in Syria's new order - analysis

YPJ commander Nowruz Ahmed said Syrian officials rejected the group’s proposal to enter the army as an independent women’s brigade or battalion.

SEPTEMBER 6, 2026ByRIZIK ALABI/THE MEDIA LINE
Kurdish female fighters in northeastern Syria.

The Kurds rose as Syria and Iraq collapsed - now, their fortunes are reversing

BEHIND THE LINES: If and when the current strategy fails, the Kurds may need to be reached again. Hopefully, by the time this occurs, they will be able to take advantage of the moment in full.

SEPTEMBER 5, 2026ByJONATHAN SPYER
KURDISH FIGHTERS from the Qamishli Brigade on parade last month.

Kurds in Syria, Iraq fight against 'Arabization' with language, but might need to push harder

Both in Syria and Iraq, there are rising reports of pushes for Arabic to become a main language and demographic changes in Kurdish areas, with officials needing to tackle these issues.

SEPTEMBER 1, 2026BySETH 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.

Kurdish women helped defeat ISIS in Syria. What is next for them as SDF dissolves? - analysis

Will the women who played such a heroic and key role in defeating ISIS receive new roles in Syria's new security force, or be left behind?

AUGUST 27, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
A Kurdish internal security forces member stands guard with a weapon as Syrian Kurds attend a protest in solidarity with the people in the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh in Aleppo, in Hasakah, Syria January 7, 2026.

Iraqi Kurdistan emerges as a key diplomatic bridge between US and Iran - analysis

Nechirvan Barzani’s ties with Washington, Tehran and regional Kurdish actors have positioned Iraqi Kurdistan as a key diplomatic bridge.

AUGUST 17, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Nechirvan Barzani, the regional president of Iraqi Kurdistan, delivers a speech after casting his ballot in Arbil, the capital of Iraqi's northern autonomous Kurdish region, on November 11, 2025.

Iraq's PM arrives in Washington as US presses Baghdad on Iran-backed militias - analysis

Iraq is already a kind of frontline between the US and Iran. After the US and Israel began strikes on Iran on February 28, the Iranians operationalized militias in Iraq.

JULY 14, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi speaks during a parliamentary session to vote in a new government headed by Ali al-Zaidi as prime minister, at the parliament headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq, May 14, 2026.

The strategic misjudgment of the Kurdish factor in Iran’s war - opinion

While Washington initially expressed rhetorical support for the Kurdish opposition, it later issued more cautious messages discouraging active Kurdish involvement in the conflict.

JUNE 28, 2026ByVEYSI DAG
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.

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.

MAY 25, 2026BySETH 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.