Courts, Coercion and Control: Why SDF-Damascus Integration Is Hitting Its Real Test
On the latest developments in the SDF-Damascus integration process, a clearer disagreement is emerging over the future of the judicial…
Casualty Data Point to a Narrow Social Base for Iran’s Exiled Kurdish Parties
The exiled armed parties have built their strategy around merging with an internal Iranian uprising rather than sustaining a conventional…
How a Cross-Sectarian Bloc Led by Iraq’s Next Generation Is Reshaping the Country
Across-sectarian bloc led by five of Iraq’s next-generation political leaders has pushed a presidential vote through despite a boycott by…
Written by
Arivan
The War Did Not Break Iran’s PKK Exception. It Revealed How Deep It Runs
Much of the discussion around the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has focused on whether Kurdish armed groups might be used to open a new front against Tehran. That question matters.…
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Arivan
Iraq’s Presidential Vote Exposes KDP’s Shrinking Reach in Baghdad
On April 11, 2026, the Iraqi parliament elected Nizar Amedi, a PUK figure from Duhok, as the new president of the republic. Amedi won 227 votes in the second round.…
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Arivan
Kobani’s new administrative formula shows what post-SDF integration looks like
The new administrative lineup in Kobani is beginning to reveal the kind of formula emerging in the district after the late January SDF-Damascus integration agreement. What is notable is not…
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Written by
Arivan
Turkey, Syria, and Iraq edge toward a rail corridor that bypasses the KRG
On April 4, 2026, Turkish Transportation Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu announced that Ankara will revive “the railway line from Nusaybin to Qamishli, thus connecting to both Syria and Iraq,” noting that…
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Arivan
Exposed and Disposable: Why Iranian Kurdish Groups May Be the War’s Biggest Losers
As the United States and Iran are reported to have reached a tentative two-week ceasefire, attention is already turning to the likely winners and losers. Most of that discussion is…
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Written by
Arivan
Has the Kurdish Moment in Iran Passed?
In the early days of the Iran war, there was serious discussion about deploying Iranian Kurdish armed groups as a ground force alongside the air campaign. That discussion coincided with…
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Written by
Arivan
Iraq’s Oil Exports Collapsed by 82% in March as SOMO Scrambles to Build Emergency Alternatives
The war’s first full month wiped out most of Iraq’s seaborne export capacity. The patchwork of fallback routes Baghdad assembled kept some revenue flowing, but March’s earnings covered less than…
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