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Showing posts from June, 2026

BREAKING NEWS: Iran launches ballistic missile attack on northern Israel after Beirut airstrikes * Schools cancelled nationwide

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  By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj Sulaimani, Iraqi Kurdistan — Kurdish Policy Analysis Iran fired around 10 ballistic missiles at north; no reports of injuries, damage Iran launched missiles toward Israel after Israeli airstrikes on southern Beirut, marking a major escalation in regional tensions and raising fears of a wider Middle East war involving the United States and Iran. Iran launched some 10 ballistic missiles at northern Israel in several salvos over the past hour. All of the missiles were intercepted or struck open areas, according to the military. There have been no reports of direct impacts, injuries, or damage in the attacks. The IDF Home Front Command says civilians in areas where sirens sounded can now leave bomb shelters. The IDF says it has so far intercepted all of the Iranian ballistic missiles launched at Israel tonight. Air defenses are now working to shoot down the latest salvo launched from Iran, triggering sirens across the north, the military says. A basketball matc...
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BREAKING NEWS: Iran launches ballistic missile attack on northern Israel after Beirut airstrikes * Schools cancelled nationwide

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  By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj Sulaimani, Iraqi Kurdistan — Kurdish Policy Analysis Iran fired around 10 ballistic missiles at north; no reports of injuries, damage Iran launched missiles toward Israel after Israeli airstrikes on southern Beirut, marking a major escalation in regional tensions and raising fears of a wider Middle East war involving the United States and Iran. Iran launched some 10 ballistic missiles at northern Israel in several salvos over the past hour. All of the missiles were intercepted or struck open areas, according to the military. There have been no reports of direct impacts, injuries, or damage in the attacks. The IDF Home Front Command says civilians in areas where sirens sounded can now leave bomb shelters. The IDF says it has so far intercepted all of the Iranian ballistic missiles launched at Israel tonight. Air defenses are now working to shoot down the latest salvo launched from Iran, triggering sirens across the north, the military says. A basketball matc...
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Tehran closes diplomatic doors; Qalibaf threatens to attack US and Israeli interests

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By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj Sulaimani, Iraqi Kurdistan — Kurdish Policy Analysis In a strong reaction to escalating military tensions in the region, the speaker of Iran's parliament has issued a direct threat to US and Israeli interests. He said his country had closed the door to dialogue and the Iranian armed forces were fully prepared to respond to any possibility. The language of force instead of diplomacy Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqir Qalibaf has lashed out at the policies of Washington and Tel Aviv, saying the two countries do not recognize the concept of diplomacy and dialogue. Qalibaf said the continued violations of ceasefire agreements in Lebanon and the tightening of economic sanctions are clear evidence that the only way to deal with the problems is to use the "language of force. U.S. and Israeli bases are under target "From now on, all US and Israeli military bases, interests and assets in the region will be regarded as the legitimate and main targets of...
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The Syrianization of Iraq: Is Tom Barrack Engineering a New Regional Order?

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By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj Sulaimani, Iraqi Kurdistan — Kurdish Policy Analysis Could Tom Barrack's vision for Iraq reshape the country along Syrian lines? As Washington recalibrates its Middle East strategy, critics warn that Iraq may be facing a dangerous political crossroads with far-reaching regional consequences. On May 31, 2026, US President Donald Trump announced the appointment of the US Ambassador to Turkey as Special Presidential Envoy to Iraq and Syria, in addition to his post in Ankara. The American businessman of Lebanese origin, Thomas Barrack, known simply as Tom Barrack, is one of the wealthiest individuals and a close friend of President Trump. He has longstanding ties to the Middle East, having worked for years in Saudi Arabia and maintaining connections with several Gulf states. Why Barrack? Barrack is not simply another envoy to Syria or Iraq; rather, he appears to represent a different approach to organizing the region, managing its conflicts, building relationship...
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Kurdistan Is Running Out of Patience with the PUK–KDP Power Struggle

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By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj Sulaimani, Iraqi Kurdistan — Kurdish Policy Analysis More than one voice has been raised in the region and talk about a number of major problems and threats that may face the region in the near future, including the threat of ending the region as an independent federal region. Among these voices are major party officials, parliamentarians, journalists and various political writers. In their view, a completely uncertain and dark future lies ahead, which could even include the destruction of the region as a semi-independent entity. The vast majority of the Kurdistan Region's population knows the simple fact that no foreign force, including those that have been closely cooperating with the region for many years, is satisfied with the form of governance, the type of administration or the relationship between the dominant forces. These forces see and act as opponents and enemies, and all attempts to improve governance succumb to their hatred and limited political m...
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The Rome–Persia Trap: What Bafel Talabani’s Historical Warning Reveals About the Future of the U.S.–Iran Confrontation

By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj Sulaimani, Iraqi Kurdistan — Kurdish Policy Analysis  At the Delphi Forum Slemani, Bafel Talabani invoked a 650-year struggle between Rome and Persia to explain why military victories rarely deliver lasting peace in the Middle East. His argument offers a broader geopolitical lesson for Washington, Tehran, Baghdad, and the Kurdistan Region. Bafel Talabani’s Delphi Forum Slemani speech compared the U.S.–Iran confrontation to the centuries-long Roman–Persian rivalry. This geopolitical analysis examines what history reveals about power, endurance, diplomacy, and the future of the Middle East. Bafel Talabani's historical analogy of ancient rivalry and modern conflict Speaking at the Delphi Economic Forum Slemani in Sulaimani, Bafel Jalal Talabani (President of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) used a historical analogy between the Roman and Persian Empires to frame the ongoing geopolitical cycle in the Middle East. ​He drew a direct comparison between that ancient...
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The Lost Warning of Edith Wharton: How a Forgotten World War I Manuscript Speaks to the Crises of 2026

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By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj Sulaimani, Iraqi Kurdistan — Kurdish Policy Analysis A previously unfinished and unpublished work by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edith Wharton, believed to have been penned in 1918, has emerged more than a century after its creation. Titled The Men Who Saved the World , the story offers a poignant glimpse into the social disconnect prevalent during the First World War and is slated to appear in the new issue of The Strand Magazine . Wharton, celebrated for her incisive portrayals of New York society in novels such as The House of Mirth and The Custom of the Country , was residing in Paris when the Great War erupted in 1914. Her initial response transcended mere literary observation; she became an active humanitarian. She established workrooms for those who had lost their livelihoods, set up hostels to aid thousands of refugees, and even reported from the trenches in a series of dispatches published in the American periodical Scribner's Magazine . Ine...
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Iran War Freezes Turkey–PKK Peace Process: A Hidden Front Opening Inside the Middle East Collapse

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Iran War Sends Shockwaves Into Turkey’s Internal Conflict Map As the war involving Iran reshapes regional security, Turkey’s fragile negotiations with the Kurdistan  By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj | Sulaimani, Iraq | 15 May 2026 — Kurdish Policy Analysis Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) have effectively stalled—raising fears that one of the world’s longest insurgencies is drifting back toward escalation just as the wider Middle East enters a new phase of instability. The Iran war has pushed Turkey’s peace process with the PKK into near standstill, as regional instability stalls negotiations and raises fears of renewed conflict across Turkey, Iraq, and Syria. The widening war involving Iran is no longer contained within traditional battle lines. It is now reshaping internal conflicts across the region—including Turkey’s decades-long struggle with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) . According to reporting from Reuters , the fragile political and security process aimed at de-escalati...
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Iranian Media Unveils ‘Lord of the Straits’ Animation Amid Hormuz Tensions

     Iran Drops “Lord of the Straits” Animation — A Chilling Signal Over Hormuz Control March 23, 2026 Iranian state-affiliated media outlets have released a stylized animation titled “Lord of the Straits,” centered on the strategic Strait of Hormuz , as tensions in the region continue to escalate. The animation, which has circulated widely on social media, depicts a dramatized narrative emphasizing Iran’s control and influence over the narrow maritime passage, a critical artery for global oil shipments. While the video does not include official military statements, analysts say its messaging aligns with Tehran’s broader strategic signaling amid the ongoing confrontation involving the United States and its allies. The Strait of Hormuz handles roughly a fifth of the world’s oil trade, making any perceived threat to its security a major concern for global energy markets. Recent weeks have seen heightened rhetoric from multiple sides, including warnings over potential di...
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A Managed Divorce May Be Better Than a Violent Marriage, the case of Kurdistan Region of Iraq

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  Why Two Administrations May Be the Only Realistic Solution to Save Kurdistan From Internal Collapse By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj Sulaimani, Iraqi Kurdistan — 20 May 2026 As distrust between the KDP and PUK reaches existential levels, a formalized two-administration model may no longer represent Kurdish failure — but the only remaining mechanism to prevent political implosion and civil conflict.  Growing tensions between the KDP and PUK are reviving debate over a two-administration model in Iraqi Kurdistan, with some analysts arguing decentralization may be the only realistic path to preserve stability and avoid institutional collapse. Why Two Administrations May Be the Only Realistic Solution to Save Kurdistan From Internal Collapse For years, the idea of returning to two administrations in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq was treated as political heresy. It evoked painful memories of the Kurdish civil war of the 1990s, territorial fragmentation , and fears that Kurdish autonomy ...
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