Abdul El-Sayed defies $60 Million campaign against him, wins Michigan Democratic Senate Primary

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  By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj | Kurdish Policy Analysis Despite massive spending by outside groups and high-profile endorsements for his opponent, Abdul El-Sayed secured a decisive Democratic Senate primary victory and now heads into a closely watched November showdown. Abdul El-Sayed has scored one of the most closely watched political upsets of the 2026 election cycle, defeating Representative Haley Stevens in Michigan's Democratic Senate primary despite facing more than $60 million in outside spending , much of it from pro-Israel political groups. The victory marks a significant breakthrough for the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and sets up a high-stakes general election contest against Republican Mike Rogers in November. El-Sayed's campaign prevailed even after Stevens received late endorsements from Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and influential national Democrats, including Representative James Clyburn . Those endorsements failed to reverse momentum behind El-S...
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KRG’s top diplomat urges European allies to protect Kurdistan Region from attacks


Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj , Sulaimani, Iraq, 05 May , 2026  —Erbil urges France, UK, EU allies to step in as hundreds of drone and missile strikes hit the Kurdistan Region despite regional ceasefire claims

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is intensifying its diplomatic push in Europe, warning that the Kurdistan Region is facing sustained drone and missile attacks that its current defense systems cannot withstand.

Speaking during an official European tour covering France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, the head of the KRG Department of Foreign Relations, Safeen Dizayee, urged Western allies to take a more active role in protecting the region from ongoing security violations.

“Our friends must prevent these violations,” Dizayee said, calling for either direct protection measures or the provision of advanced defense systems comparable to those supplied to Baghdad.

A Region Caught in the Crossfire

Since the outbreak of the US-Israel-Iran confrontation earlier this year, the Kurdistan Region has reportedly faced hundreds of drone and missile attacks. Despite broader ceasefire arrangements between major regional powers, strikes on Kurdish territory have continued with little interruption.

According to KRG estimates, more than 800 attacks have been recorded since the beginning of the conflict, often justified by unnamed actors under what Erbil describes as “unfounded pretexts.”

Even after the April ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, monitoring groups reported nearly 50 additional strikes, many of them targeting areas linked to Iranian Kurdish opposition groups.

The Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT) attributed the majority of post-ceasefire incidents to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated groups, suggesting a sustained pattern of cross-border pressure despite formal de-escalation.

“Not a Party to the War”

Dizayee reiterated that the Kurdistan Region is not participating in regional conflicts and will not allow its territory to be used as a platform for escalation.

“We made clear that the Kurdistan Region has not been and will not be party to the war, and will not allow its territory to become a threat to regional security,” he said.

He also drew historical parallels, referencing the 1991 establishment of a no-fly zone over northern Iraq, which enabled the emergence of the Kurdistan Region’s current autonomous status under international protection.

“Just as a no-fly zone was established in 1991, we now need to be protected from these acts of aggression,” he added, arguing that modern defensive capabilities are beyond the region’s current reach.

Europe’s Strategic Dilemma

France in particular has maintained long-standing ties with the Kurdistan Region and was among the key supporters of the 1991 protection framework. That history is now being invoked by Erbil as it seeks renewed Western engagement.

The KRG is effectively signaling that the region is entering a new phase of vulnerability—one where autonomy exists, but deterrence does not.

At the center of its message is a strategic request: either enhanced direct protection or military parity in defensive systems with Baghdad, to prevent the Kurdistan Region from becoming a repeated target in wider Iran-linked regional tensions.

#Kurdistan #Iraq #KRG #MiddleEast #Iran #DroneWar #Erbil #Geopolitics #Security #ForeignPolicy

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