Kurdish Policy Analysis

  By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj The Hidden Cost of the Iran War: Leaked Pentagon Figures Raise Questions Over U.S. Casualty Reporting Reports of 18 U.S. Troops Killed and Hundreds Wounded Spark Debate Over Transparency, Military Readiness, and the Human Cost of the Conflict Leaked Pentagon casualty figures have renewed debate over transparency in the Iran conflict, as reports indicate rising U.S. troop casualties and delayed reporting of battlefield injuries. As the U.S. military campaign against Iran intensifies, a new controversy has emerged—not over battlefield strategy, but over whether the American public is receiving a complete picture of the war's human cost. According to reports based on leaked Pentagon information, the conflict has resulted in 18 American service members killed and at least 447 wounded , with the total number of casualties potentially rising as delayed medical diagnoses are recorded. The reports have reignited long-standing questions about how the Pentagon comm...

By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj How Much Has the Iran War Cost the United States? Pentagon Seeks $67 Billion More as Conflict Escalates Washington Seeks Another $67 Billion as Military Casualties Rise and New Strikes Loom The military confrontation between the United States and Iran is rapidly evolving into one of the most expensive overseas conflicts of the decade. Beyond the battlefield, the war is placing mounting pressure on the U.S. defense budget, military readiness, and domestic political debate as Washington prepares for what could become a prolonged regional campaign. Appearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed that the conflict has already cost approximately $37.5 billion , while requesting an additional $67 billion in emergency funding to replenish depleted weapons stockpiles and sustain ongoing military operations. At the same time, U.S. casualties continue to rise, and President Donald Trump has signaled that another major s...

By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj Sulaimani, Iraqi Kurdistan — 25 May 2026 Washington’s Push for a Grand Bargain Could Reshape the Middle East — and Deepen America’s Contradictions Donald Trump is attempting to tie a potential Iran peace deal to a massive expansion of the Abraham Accords. But the strategy risks exposing deep contradictions between Israel, Gulf states, and Washington’s vision for the Middle East. For years, American strategy toward Iran has oscillated between “maximum pressure” and military escalation. Now, U.S. President Donald Trump appears to be testing a radically different path: ending the long-running confrontation with Tehran through an uneasy geopolitical compromise while simultaneously attempting to redraw the Middle East around an expanded Abraham Accords framework. The contradiction at the center of Trump’s emerging strategy is stark. Washington seeks to contain Iran while also negotiating with it. It wants Arab normalization with Israel while the Gaza war continues...

  Tehran’s Revolutionary Guards claim they struck US- and Israeli-linked networks operating from Iraqi Kurdistan, raising fears that the region is sliding toward a dangerous new phase of regional conflict. By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj Sulaimani, Iraqi Kurdistan — 19 May 2026 Iran’s IRGC says it targeted US- and Israeli-linked groups near the Iraqi Kurdistan border, escalating fears that Kurdistan could become a central battlefield in the expanding regional conflict. A dangerous new chapter may be unfolding across the mountains separating Iran from Iraqi Kurdistan. In a dramatic escalation that is sending shockwaves through regional intelligence circles, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that it had struck armed groups allegedly linked to the United States and Israel near the Kurdish border region around Baneh in Iran’s Kurdistan Province. Tehran claims the groups were attempting to smuggle American weapons into Iranian territory from northern Iraq. The accusa...

  As Washington, Tehran, Ankara, Riyadh, and Tel Aviv compete to shape the post-war balance, a dangerous new regional order is emerging from the ashes of the Iran conflict. By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj Sulaimani, Iraqi Kurdistan — 19 May 2026 The war on Iran may have failed to topple Tehran, but it has already transformed the Middle East. From Gulf security realignments to proxy warfare and shifting alliances, a new regional order is emerging. The Middle East is entering a historic transition period that may ultimately rival the aftermath of the 2003 Iraq War, the 1979 Iranian Revolution, or even the collapse of the Ottoman order after World War I. The recent US-Israeli war against Iran did not produce the decisive collapse of the Islamic Republic many in Washington and Tel Aviv had envisioned. Yet the conflict has fundamentally altered the strategic psychology of the region. Tehran survived militarily and politically, but the foundations of regional deterrence, alliance structures, a...