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The Iran Protest Wave’s Surprise Epicenter: Shi’a Kurdish Ilam
As the January 2026 Iran protest wave continues, after first erupting on 28 December 2025, some of the largest protests and sharpest violence have concentrated in Ilam province and, to…
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Written by
Arivan
The KDP and PUK Seek Backroom Deal on Iraqi Presidency
The KDP and PUK are locked in another episode of their ongoing power struggle over the Iraqi presidency. While both parties fielded candidates during the brief registration window, they are…
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Arivan
Aleppo’s SDF Enclave Becomes a Test of Damascus’ “Integration by Pressure” Strategy
After days of intermittent clashes and fire exchanges, the Syrian army today declared the SDF-controlled pocket in Aleppo a closed military zone and called on residents to leave. Damascus has…
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Arivan
In Damascus Talks, SDF and Syria Battle Over Optics and Command
Yesterday, top SDF commanders Mazloum Abdi, Sipan Hamo and Sozdar Derik met with Syrian officials in Damascus. The talks immediately produced two competing narratives: the SDF said the meeting was…
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Arivan
As Iran Recedes, Two New Blocs Collide on Kurdish Ground
The post-October 7 Middle East is reorganising around three distinct formations, each with its own internal logic. Iran’s Axis of Resistance, though diminished by the loss of Assad and the…
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Written by
Yaseen Taha
Kurdistan’s First Christians: How the Church Took Root – and Who They Really Were
Historic Kurdistan has long been defined by religious and cultural plurality, and Christianity has been one of its enduring strands. From the earliest phases of Christianity’s emergence in the East,…
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Arivan
Northeast Syria’s political geography turns every option into a trap
As the stated deadline of the Damascus–SDF March 10 agreement for the integration of the SDF into the Syrian army passes without a deal, the risk of military escalation rises.…
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Arivan
KRG Civil Servants Owed $21bn After Decade of Delayed and Partial Salaries
The KRG owes its public sector workforce an estimated 30.8 trillion Iraqi dinars, approximately $21 billion, in unpaid wages, withheld salary increases, and accumulated arrears built up over eleven years…
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Arivan
A Prime Minister or a Tea-Server? Inside Iraq’s Post-Election Shia Power Struggle
With the Federal Court’s ratification of the election results, Iraqi parliament is set to convene tomorrow for its inaugural session, where lawmakers will elect the parliament’s presidium. The president must…
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Arivan
Iraq’s Consensus System Faces a Floor Vote It Wasn’t Built For
As Iraq approaches the constitutional timeline for forming a new government, disputes inside the main blocs are sharpening and beginning to test the informal power-sharing rules that have governed politics…
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