KDP, PUK figures reportedly flee Kurdistan fearing Iran strikes

KDP, PUK figures and their families reportedly flee Kurdistan fearing Iran strikes — Habur Ibrahim Khalil border crossing between the Iraqi Kurdistan region and Turkey, 2022. Photo: Reuters

ERBIL, — Senior figures from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), along with their families, have reportedly left Iraq’s Kurdistan Region due to concerns over possible Iranian retaliatory attacks, according to local media.

NRT TV reported Monday that high-ranking KDP and PUK officials fled the region in recent days. The departures come amid growing fears of a military response and retaliation from Iran, sources told the network.

The timing of the departures coincides with heightened regional tensions as the military conflict between Israel and Iran enters its fifth consecutive day. Both sides have carried out strikes. Israeli airstrikes last Friday killed 20 senior Iranian military figures.

Bafel Talabani, a prominent PUK leader, issued a public statement condemning attacks on Iran four days after Israel’s remarks. Observers said the statement may have been an effort to distance the PUK from any involvement or affiliation with parties seen as hostile by Tehran.

iKurd News could not independently verify these reports.

Separately, the KDP-led Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) issued a condemnation of Israel’s attacks on Iran, calling for restraint and urging diplomacy to solve the crisis.

Shaswar Abdulwahid, head of the New Generation Movement (Newey Nwê), said on Monday that he has no plans to leave Iraqi Kurdistan Region despite rising tensions in the region.

Abdulwahid criticized officials from the KRG for fleeing the region, saying they should stay and face the situation alongside the people. He blamed the long-time rule of the major parties—the KDP and PUK—for the region’s ongoing economic problems.

His comments came as reports suggested that some leaders from the KDP and PUK left the region in recent days, fearing possible attacks from Iran.

Due to recent closures of airports across the Kurdistan Region, the officials and their families are believed to have left through land borders into neighboring countries.

Specific locations or destinations have not been disclosed, but the movement out of the region appears to have been coordinated to avoid attracting attention.

NRT has not disclosed the names of the individuals who have left. However, multiple sources close to both parties indicated that the families of senior officials were relocated first, followed by the discreet departures of the officials themselves.

Iran has previously launched direct strikes into the Kurdistan Region. On March 13, 2022, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired a dozen ballistic missiles at Erbil, striking areas near the U.S. consulate complex and nearby residential zones. It marked the first time Iran publicly acknowledged a missile attack on Iraqi Kurdish territory.

On January 15, 2024, Iran launched 11 ballistic missiles into Erbil, claiming it was targeting alleged Israeli Mossad “spy headquarters”

On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump called on civilians in Tehran to evacuate the city immediately. He also reiterated his stance that Iran should have agreed to a nuclear deal with the United States.

(With files from NRT TV | Agencies)