The Arabization of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region?! – Part III

Salih Zhajlayi | Exclusive to iKurd.net
Translated by iKurd.net from Kurdish Awene

In this article, I would like to bring a few points to the attention of my dear readers regarding a writing by my dear brother, Mr. Rebin Herdi, which was published on the Awene website under the title: “Is There a Danger of Arabization?”

Mr. Rebin has pointed out that, for some time, rumors have been spreading about the danger of Arabization, and that this was the reason he wrote his article. In reality, I personally first came across this concern in a writing by the highly respected Dr. Burhan Yasin, who discussed in great detail the danger of the process of Arabization. Later, I also wrote an article about this issue and published it on Facebook. After that, many other people here and there also spoke about this danger and expressed their opinions.

Recently, I came across another article by the highly respected Mr. Niaz Saeed Ali, which was published on the Shar Press website, and it completely shocked me.

This respected writer republished one of his own articles from 15 years ago about how, in 2016, the Governor of Sulaimani, based on a proposal from the Sulaimani Chamber of Commerce, requested that the governor at the time issue a decision allowing Arab citizens to buy apartments and properties and register them in their names, something that had been prohibited until then.

The governor immediately accepted the proposal. On Friday, June 3, 2016, he issued the decision, and on Monday, June 6, 2016, he made the decision official and put it into effect.

That decision had many negative consequences, and the increase in the number of Arab citizens in the Kurdistan Region has caused great concern because, in the future, it could create a very serious danger for Iraq’s Kurdistan Region.

Therefore, I was also very concerned, and until now I have written two articles about “Arabization Arabization of the Kurdistan Region.” This third part is dedicated to a number of comments about Mr. Rebin Herdi’s article.

Before going into the details of the discussion, I would like to talk about three points:

First: I consider Mr. Rebin a dear friend of mine. However, my views on this issue are one hundred percent opposite to his views. I consider the arguments he has presented to show that there is no danger of Arabization to be very weak. His opinion is also opposite to the opinion of the majority, as can be seen from the comments people have written under his article.

Second: Other people have also written similar things, and I personally would never have expected that, on such an important and dangerous issue, Mr. Rebin would think in this way and have such an opinion. However, everyone is free to think in their own way.

Third: If Mr. Rebin believes that the way other people think is incorrect, that it is closer to the thinking of nationalist and chauvinistic people, and that such thinking belongs to a past era, I do not know how accurate this is, and I cannot speak on his behalf. But I would like to say this:

Personally, I have very little feeling of chauvinism or nationalism. In my view, all human beings, regardless of differences in culture, language, and religion, ultimately come together and are equal in their humanity.

I do not hate an Arab citizen because I am Kurdish and he is Arab. My problem is with that Arab person who considers himself superior to me, who believes he has the right to take away my rights, remove me from my own homeland, deny me everything, and treat me as a slave and someone who must obey him.

The truth is that all the countries among which we Kurds have been divided look at us in this way.

Does Mr. Rebin accept these views and agree with them?

Now I will begin answering Mr. Rebin’s article point by point:

1- In his first point, Mr. Rebin considers the arrival of this large number of Arab citizens to be something completely normal. He says that the arrival of several Arab families in the major cities of Kurdistan will not cause demographic change unless it is part of a planned policy by the central government and a special budget is allocated for it.

My response is:

We are not an independent government, so we cannot be completely free of danger. Look at the Arabization process in Khanaqin, Saadiyah, Jalawla, Kirkuk, Makhmur, and Shengal, which separated these areas from the Kurdish population. The geographical distance between those cities and the cities of Sulaimani, Erbil, Duhok, and other towns is not large. If the situation continues as it is now, in the long term these areas could also become the property of Arabs.

2- Mr. Rebin says in this point:

The number of Arabs who have settled in the major cities of the Kurdistan Region, no matter how large it is, will not have an impact on the percentage of Kurdish residents because they are a very small minority and are not even noticeable.

Then he says:

After this current generation of Arabs, the second and third generations will be different from the first generation; they will mix with Kurds, and they themselves will identify as Kurds.

This is a very weak possibility because Arabs have their own private schools and study in the Arabic language. This is also a policy of the central government to ensure that those who are born in the Kurdistan Region never lose their identity and do not dissolve into Kurdish society.

As Dr. Yasin has written, there are 179 Arabic-language schools in the Kurdistan Region. There are currently one million three hundred thirty-two thousand Arabs living in the Kurdistan Region, representing 26 percent of the population of the Kurdistan Region.

Now, if only 10 percent of people today understand this and feel concerned about the future danger, do they not think about what will happen if this process continues and thousands of apartments are sold to Arabs for the benefit and profits of greedy officials, profit-seeking businessmen, and people who sell their homeland?

After another 20 years, what percentage will Arab citizens represent?

Or do we not need to think about the future and only focus on the food on today’s table?

3- Mr. Rebin has pointed out that the conditions and weather in southern Iraq are very difficult, while the climate of the Kurdistan Region is pleasant, and that this has caused many people to travel toward the Iraqi Kurdistan Region for tourism.

Well, this is something to be happy about. The arrival of Arabs for tourism is very different from their coming to Kurdistan, settling there, and changing the demographics of the region.

Instead of building apartments, let the government and greedy investors create tourist sites, establish factories, and build investment projects so that the economic infrastructure of the region becomes stronger.

Is building only apartments a sign of economic development?

In another part, Mr. Rebin says:

Because of delayed salaries and the poor economic situation in the region, the market of the Kurdistan Region is increasingly looking toward the arrival of Arabs.

No one disagrees with that, and we are not against Arabs coming to the Kurdistan Region. But as we said, let us create the conditions for them to come for tourism, not to settle here.

Is it necessary to sell the Kurdistan Region just because Arab citizens come to buy goods and property?

4- Mr. Rebin says:

This region has been established according to the law, and Kurds and Arabs have equal rights. Everyone has the right to live anywhere in Iraq, and everyone has equal rights.

However, Mr. Rebin has forgotten that Kurdish citizens, as individuals, do not want to settle in other parts of Iraq because:

We have two cultures that are very different from one another.

Kurds have always been oppressed by the dominant and powerful Arab nation.

On the other hand, the environment and climate of the Kurdistan Region encourage the continuous migration of Arabs toward it.

Most importantly, the Arab population in Iraq is increasing rapidly and continuously. The environment and climate of central and southern Iraq, along with the availability of the necessary conditions for continued life there, cannot accommodate such a large population increase. Therefore, the arrival of Arabs in large numbers to the Kurdistan Region and their settlement there will have negative consequences.

In another sense, the desire and wish that Arab citizens have to settle in the Kurdistan Region is something Kurdish citizens do not have. As a result, we Kurds will be the first to suffer the consequences.

Mr. Rebin says:

The environment of the Kurdistan Region has caused Arab citizens to turn toward it.

But our concern is this:

Has Kurdistan made any plans for the dangers that may result from this migration to the Kurdistan Region?

Or is the only purpose to allow greedy and corrupt Kurds to sell as many apartments as possible and share the profits with officials who sell their homeland, while people in the market increase their business by selling fake honey, pistachios, sunflower seeds, and dried fruits, and the homeland is left behind like a torn net?

5- At the end of his article, Mr. Rebin says:

The increase in the number of Arabs in this way is natural, and the demographics of the Kurdistan Region will never change. Just as the migration of millions of Kurds, Turks, Arabs, and other peoples to European countries resulted in them becoming citizens and mixing with the cultures of those countries, rather than making those countries Kurdish, Arab, or Turkish.

In my opinion, Mr. Rebin has made a mistake here to some extent.

This is because I still have many other comments regarding Mr. Rebin’s points; however, this discussion will not end here. I do not want the article to become too long and cause readers to become tired of reading.

I will complete the remaining points in the fourth part of this discussion so that people can better understand the danger of the arrival and increase of Arab citizens and not view it as a normal phenomenon.

Because, in the end, a thousand regrets are not worth a bunch of radishes.

Salih Zhajlayi, one of the political figures in Sulaimani city, Iraqi Kurdistan, and formerly the Deputy Head of the General Assembly of the Gorran (Change) Movement, is currently working independently in Sulaimani.

This article was originally published in the Kurdish language in Awene Newspaper on July 26, 2026.

The opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of iKurd.net or its editors.

Copyright © 2026 iKurd.net. All rights reserved.

The post Who’s Really Arabizing Kurdistan? It’s Not Baghdad – Part III appeared first on iKurd News.

SULAIMANI,— A medical team in Sulaimani, in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, has finished a complex nose reconstruction for a laborer who suffered severe facial damage in a high-voltage electrical accident.

Dr. Diyar Abdulwahid, a plastic and cosmetic surgery specialist, led the multi-step operation and discussed the case on Channel8 TV’s Health News program.

The worker had lost a large section of his nose after being injured in the workplace accident. To fix the damage, the surgical team chose prefabricated forehead flap method, a demanding procedure usually kept for major facial injuries.

The technique works by growing nasal tissue on the forehead first, then moving it to the nose in a later operation once it has developed properly.

Dr. Abdulwahid said standard facial repairs are common in the region’s surgical units, but building a prefabricated forehead flap specifically for an electrical burn injury is an unusual case worldwide.

He told the channel that the first stage of the transplant went well, and the patient is now getting ready for the final step, when the tissue will be moved to the nose once it has fully settled.

This forehead flap approach is considered one of the more advanced methods in nose reconstruction.

Older forehead flap techniques move tissue to the nose fairly quickly, but this newer method takes place in stages over a longer period.

Surgeons first place blood vessel tissue, usually taken from the temple or groin area, under the skin of the forehead. Over several weeks, this tissue builds a strong blood supply.

That supply then supports a skin graft, which grows into a piece of tissue shaped for the nose. Once that tissue has matured and has steady blood flow, doctors move it to repair the nose in another surgery.

Though the process takes time and skill, it works well for serious injuries like burns, where nearby tissue is too damaged for regular repair methods.

It also avoids leaving a scar on the forehead and produces tissue that matches the nose’s color and texture, giving surgeons a strong option for difficult reconstruction cases.

(With files from Channel8.com | Agencies)

Copyright © 2026 iKurd.net. All rights reserved.

The post Kurdish doctors use forehead tissue to rebuild worker’s nose appeared first on iKurd News.

BERLIN,— German officials said Sunday that a deadly vehicle attack near Berlin’s Pride celebration the night before is being treated as an act of Islamist terrorism, as police searched for a suspect described as dangerous and possibly armed.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told reporters near the scene that all available evidence points to a terrorist act linked to Islamist extremism.

He said the suspected attacker had a history of criminal offenses and had shown signs of radicalization, along with ties to Islamist circles.

The attack happened around 10 p.m. Saturday when a white minivan drove into a crowd in Tiergarten park, close to the Brandenburg Gate.

The area sits near Christopher Street Day, one of Europe’s largest annual LGBTQ+ Pride events.

One person was killed, and 29 others were hurt, eight of them seriously, Dobrindt said. Fire officials reported that three of the injured were in life threatening condition, and some victims had stab wounds.

Dobrindt said Germany’s 16 states have been briefed on the attack and told to reassess security plans for large public gatherings, including future Pride events.

He warned that such violent acts could motivate others to carry out similar attacks.

Berlin police identified the suspect overnight as Abdul B. and released his photo, asking the public for help locating him.

They described him as slim, about 1.90 meters, or roughly 6 feet 2 inches tall, with black hair. He was last seen wearing a black hooded top and white pants. Police cautioned residents not to approach him directly.

Dobrindt said the suspect was born in Germany in 2005 and has Lebanese family background. Security officials told Reuters he had been released from juvenile detention just two months earlier.

They said he had reached out to the Islamic State militant group and was already known to Germany’s domestic intelligence service, placed among hundreds of individuals considered potentially dangerous, a status that typically brings ongoing monitoring.

Organizers of Christopher Street Day called off the rest of the event following the attack. Authorities said key details remain unclear, including whether the suspect acted alone, noting that more than one person may have exited the van after the crash.

Television footage from Reuters showed the white minivan wrecked against a tree Sunday morning. German tabloid Bild reported the vehicle was a rented Citroen delivery van and that investigators had searched the suspect’s home.

The attack lands at a difficult moment for Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose coalition government has faced criticism over its performance and is currently undergoing a rocky cabinet shake-up.

Regional elections are scheduled in two months, with the far-right Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, focusing its campaign on immigration and public safety as it seeks its first win in leading a state government.

AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla reacted quickly on social media platform X, writing that the party would not let religious extremists divide the country through violence and intolerance.

Germany has seen several vehicle-related assaults on crowds in recent years. In May, a man believed to have mental health problems drove into a pedestrian area in Leipzig, killing two people and seriously injuring three others.

In 2016, Anis Amri, a Tunisian national whose asylum request had been denied and who had connections to Islamist militants, hijacked a truck, killed its driver, and drove into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin.

That attack killed 11 people and injured dozens more. Amri was later shot dead by police in Italy four days afterward.

German police said a 21-year-old man with a history of Islamist extremist activity was shot and killed by officers on Sunday.

Police said the suspect in Saturday’s attack was found at about 6 p.m. local time in a community garden complex in the Spandau district of western Berlin.

According to police, the man ran toward officers while carrying a knife. Officers then opened fire. Despite immediate efforts by emergency responders to revive him, he died at the scene.

Dagmar Euent and Juliane Gotzler, who have a garden plot at the complex, said they heard several gunshots. They said police instructed them to remain inside their garden hut while the incident unfolded.

Berlin Pride attacker shot dead by police

German police said a 21-year-old man with a history of Islamist extremist activity was shot and killed by officers on Sunday, July 26, 2026.

Police said the suspect in Saturday’s attack was found at about 6 p.m. local time in a community garden complex in the Spandau district of western Berlin.

According to police, the man ran toward officers while carrying a knife. Officers then opened fire. Despite immediate efforts by emergency responders to revive him, he died at the scene.

Dagmar Euent and Juliane Gotzler, who have a garden plot at the complex, said they heard several gunshots. They said police instructed them to remain inside their garden hut while the incident unfolded.

Separately, a court in Germany sentenced a Saudi doctor to life in prison in June 2026 after convicting him of killing six people and injuring hundreds when he drove a rented BMW into crowds at a historic Christmas market in Magdeburg just days before Christmas in 2024.

(With files from Reuters)

Copyright © 2026 iKurd.net. All rights reserved.

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Selling the homeland to Arabs is never an act of brotherhood

Hoger Sheikh | Exclusive to iKurd.net
Translated by iKurd.net from Kurdish Awene

An Open Letter to Mr. Massoud Barzani

Although I have sent you two or three open letters before through newspapers, I doubt that you have seen any of them. Perhaps the reason is that those around you do not allow such matters to reach you, or perhaps you personally may not have the interest or opportunity to read this kind of material. I cannot say for certain.

Even so, this time I have decided once again to send you this open letter. Although I would have preferred that only you read it rather than it being published openly, I hope it will not be like knocking on cold iron once again. We have been repeating these things for many years, yet nothing positive has come from them.

Dear Mr. Massoud,

From the time of your respected father and grandfather, and through what history, or what has reached us over time, has shown, you, in particular, have been at the heart of the events, revolutions, and tragedies of your nation since childhood. Your books also show that you are well aware of the details concerning Kurdistan, its occupiers, and the major powers.

You also know very well that all the revolutions of our nation have been carried out for the purpose of preserving our national identity and our homeland. Clearly, this was the desire of our nation, and for this very goal, hundreds of thousands of our people were killed through the Anfal campaign, chemical attacks, executions by hanging, acid pits, and many other crimes.

From the very first congress of the Ba’ath Party, one of its objectives was the destruction and assimilation of the Kurds. What Saddam did was the direct implementation of that goal. They worked toward it step by step.

Until the fall of that regime, vast areas of Kirkuk, Mosul, Diyala, and Kut were Arabized. Even within the three cities of the so-called autonomous region, thousands of villages and small towns were destroyed, because the regime knew that every village was an economically productive unit. At the same time, every village also served as a base for resistance, the revolution, and the Peshmerga.

All of this happened. Yet, until the uprising, Arabs, including security personnel and their associates, did not even dare enter many neighborhoods and alleyways in the cities.

Their fear was so great that, in Sulaimani city, many streets in neighborhoods such as Malikandi, Kaniskan, and Chwarbakh were avoided because they were considered centers of danger.

Until the fall of that regime, vast areas of Kirkuk, Mosul, Diyala, and Kut were Arabized. Even within the three cities of the so-called autonomous region, thousands of villages and small towns were destroyed because the regime knew that every village was an economically productive unit. At the same time, every village also served as a base for resistance, the revolution, and the Peshmerga.

All of this happened. Yet, until the uprising, Arabs, including security personnel and their associates, did not even dare enter many neighborhoods and alleyways in the cities.

Their fear was so great that, in Sulaimani, many streets in neighborhoods such as Malikandi, Kaniskan, and Chwarbakh were avoided because they were considered centers of danger.

But now, unfortunately, the autonomous region, which was once a single administrative unit, has in practice become two separate zones. In both zones, cities have expanded, and the political parties have described this expansion as “development” and “growth.”

However, this urban expansion has also caused the small number of villagers who remained in their hometowns to move into the cities.

One of the main reasons for this was the creation of dependence among villagers by giving them government salaries without meaningful work, making them unemployed, silent salary earners so that during elections they would become obedient followers and guaranteed votes for those in power.

At the same time, Kurdish residents from Kirkuk, Khurmatu, Makhmour, Khanaqin, Jalawla, Kifri, and other areas have been leaving their homes, while others have continued moving into those regions.

Even more alarming is the construction of hundreds of apartment buildings and housing projects in the name of “investment.” Many of these so-called investors have become millionaires, and some have even become billionaires.

If this continues, they will eventually cover all the land of the Kurdistan Region with houses and apartment buildings.

The media outlets affiliated with the political parties, of which there are hundreds, constantly run advertisements in both Kurdish and Arabic, encouraging people from central and southern Iraq to come to the Kurdistan Region and become owners of apartments and houses.

This nonstop race to build apartments and houses and make money from them has reached the point where the number of non-Kurdish residents moving to Erbil, Sulaimani, and Duhok is becoming nearly equal to the Kurdish population.

In fact, if you walk through the streets of these cities today, you hear Arabic almost as much as you hear Kurdish.

Not only that, but in Sulaimani there are now many shops selling Arab agal headbands and traditional Arab abaya garments.

There are even mosque preachers who deliver sermons about the virtue of wearing the dishdasha, while, in practice, they are helping bury Kurdish culture alive.

Even more unfortunate is that the Kurdistan Regional Government reportedly intends to settle several thousand Kurdish-language teachers from Kirkuk in Erbil by granting them land. Clearly, this would result in the displacement of several thousand Kurdish families from Kirkuk.

Although Article 140 of the Constitution is still mentioned from time to time, it too became a victim of the lack of Kurdish unity.

Instead of implementing Article 140, nine new Arab neighborhoods have been established inside Kirkuk since October 16. The pace of Arabization has now surpassed even what took place during Saddam Hussein’s era.

Sir, even according to the Constitution itself, demographic change is not permitted. Therefore, if those involved in the housing and land sector argue that Iraq belongs to everyone and that people have the right to come and buy property from us, then we should rely on the Constitution itself, specifically Article 23, paragraph (B), which clearly states that changing places of residence must not be intended to alter the demographic composition.

What is happening today, both in Kirkuk and in the Kurdistan Region, has one underlying purpose: changing the demographic makeup of Kurdistan.

The tragedy is that, in this case, it is the Kurds themselves who are encouraging the process.

Personally, I believe in the brotherhood of nations and peoples, but selling a homeland is never an act of brotherhood.

These so-called investment businessmen, whether they realize it or not, should understand that what they are doing falls into the category of selling the homeland.

It is clear that they operate under the protection and influence of Kurdish local authorities, and every authority sells the lands of its cities under the name of investment and development, allowing them to be taken over by profiteers.

Their goal is to make money as quickly as possible. Otherwise, at the very least, they would have come forward with projects to build strategic economic infrastructure in the Kurdistan Region.

My dear friend, if this continues for several more years, southern Kurdistan will become like the outskirts of Mosul, Diyala, and other such areas.

At that point, future generations may become so few in number that they will not even be able to use the word “Kurdistan,” because Kurds will have sold their own land willingly and by their own consent, and others will have purchased it.

In other words, as Sheikh Ghaith Al-Tamimi said in a published video:

“Saddam carried out Arabization by force, so he was not very successful. But now, since there is no longer someone like him in the picture, Kurdish leaders themselves are carrying out the Arabization. At the same time, go to the cities of the Kurdistan Region, restaurants, markets, cafés, and other places, all of them have become Arab.”

Another Arab brother of ours published a comment using very harsh and aggressive language, saying:

“In another two or three decades, the north of our beloved country will become ours…”

Without a doubt, their continued arrival, their ownership of homes, land, businesses, and livelihoods, along with their higher birth rates, will eventually make them an absolute majority.

At that point, they will begin creating problems and finding excuses to act against the Kurds.

There is no doubt that this would be unacceptable to the Kurds, and they would defend themselves. This would eventually lead to war.

Once that happens, the countries that have occupied Kurdistan and the so-called Islamic states, and especially the British government, will begin condemning the Kurds. They will give Arabs full rights and recognize the land as belonging to them. They will then start talking about human rights and United Nations laws.

At that point, the Kurds will be faced with three choices, and all three would lead to destruction:

The first choice: The Kurds surrender, submit, and wait for the goodwill of the newcomers so that they are not oppressed too much.

The second choice: The Kurds leave their homeland and migrate to other countries, living as displaced people and refugees, wandering from place to place like the Roma.

The third choice: Like the Kurds east of the Tigris River 150 years ago, they accept assimilation in order to protect their lives and their families, and they abandon their own language and culture by melting into Arab society.

Mr. Massoud, anyone who does not see this reality should question the correctness of their own way of thinking.

We have our own local authority, and during these 35 years, many actions have been taken that were against our highest national interests.

This includes everything from the decline in the dignity and status of the Kurdish language to the fact that everyone is allowed to make statements on their own, without any limits and without clear red lines against actions carried out in the name of political party interests.

It also includes the constant disputes and conflicts between parties, each moving in different directions, toward Baghdad, foreign countries, and elsewhere, along with the absence of a national agreement that cannot be abandoned under any excuse and that no one should be allowed to violate.

At the same time, we have failed to establish a clear definition of high treason (al-khiyana al-uzma), so that acts of betrayal and selling out the homeland would not be presented falsely as struggle and political activism.

Our ancestors used to say:

“A chicken does not throw dirt on itself; no one else needs to do it.”

What is happening today is something we ourselves are causing.

Therefore, by our own actions, we are giving legitimacy to the occupation of Kurdish land.

This article was originally published in the Kurdish language in Awene Newspaper on July 24, 2026.

The opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of iKurd.net or its editors.

Copyright © 2026 iKurd.net. All rights reserved.

The post Massoud Barzani, Stop Selling Kurdistan to Arabs appeared first on iKurd News.

Ardishir Rashidi Kalhur | Exclusive to iKurd.net

Causing Iran in Decline

Severely battered by the war with the United States and Israel, the surviving leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran has entered irreversible cultural and political decline. Much of the population are now living in a state of deep depression and despondency.

With no hope in sight, the regime that came to power under a Shiite ideology centered on martyrdom and victimhood has, in view of many, evolved into a cruel and lawless oppressor of its own people.

It has been accused of killing thousands, suppressing dissent, and lashing out against neighboring states and national minorities, particularly the Kurdish population both within Iran and across the border in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. These actions, critics argue, reflect the desperate political condition in which Iran now finds itself.

Iran’s most formidable instrument of repression is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to this perspective, its principal responsibilities are: (1) to preserve the territorial integrity of the Iranian state by any means deemed necessary, with little regard for human life or fundamental rights; (2) to strengthen Iran’s military power, including the pursuit of advanced strategic nuclear capabilities, as a counterweight to Israel and Western military alliances; and (3) to maintain control over the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically vital maritime chokepoint through which a significant portion of the world’s oil supply passes.

The effort to achieve all of these objectives has led to a new wave of bombardments against Iranian cities and military installations. The apparent objective is to compel Iran either to accept military defeat or to endure a prolonged campaign of sustained military pressure and economic attrition until its capacity to resist is exhausted.

In Islamic tradition, Azrael (not to be confused with the word Israel) is the Angel of Death, who appears at the end of a person’s life to receive the departing soul. In religious belief, the soul’s ultimate destination is determined by God’s judgment according to the individual’s deeds during life.

According to Islamic tradition, Azrael is one of four principal archangels, alongside Jibril (Gabriel), Mikail (Michael), and Israfil (Raphael). These angels are believed to carry out God’s commands in governing various aspects of the created order and humanity’s existence from birth until death.

Readers may notice that the names of these archangels end with the suffix “-el” or one of its linguistic variants. In the Semitic languages, El is an ancient word for “God” and appears in many biblical and Near Eastern personal names.

Some writers have argued that this element is historically related to the Arabic word Allah, while others distinguish between the two based on linguistic and historical evidence. For a more detailed discussion of the origin and meaning of “El,” please refer to the previously published article on this site.

Understanding the Yazidis of Kurdistan

According to many religious traditions, among the mortal sins that may condemn a soul are acts that violate fundamental moral principles. By the standards of a genuinely peaceful faith and modern civil society, such grave transgressions may include hatred, violence, murder, theft, jealousy, perjury, prostitution, and numerous other acts that inflict harm upon individuals and society.

For a more complete discussion of mortal sins, readers may wish to consult a religious or spiritual leader whose conduct reflects the moral principles they teach. Good luck with your search.

History, however, reminds us that religious institutions and ideological movements are not immune from moral failure. Mosques, madrasas, nationalist Christian churches, and extremist movements such as Kahanism, like all human institutions, have at times been associated with intolerance, violence, or injustice. No institution or ideology can claim moral perfection merely by virtue of its religious or political identity.

These are among the moral standards that humanity has gradually established through millennia of civilization. Although cultures and religions differ in their ethical teachings, there remains a broad consensus that hatred, cruelty, dishonesty, and the taking of innocent life are immoral, while justice, compassion, truthfulness, and respect for human dignity are virtues worthy of pursuit.

Religious Perjury

From a Judaic theological perspective, some scholars argue that the Qur’an incorporates and reinterprets figures and narratives that first appear in the Hebrew Bible. The names and roles of the archangels in Islam — including Jibril (Gabriel), Mikail (Michael), Israfil (Raphael), and Azrael — bear clear parallels to angelic figures found in earlier Jewish and Christian traditions.

Critics who view these adaptations as unauthorized or false may characterize them as a form of religious plagiarism or misappropriation, whereas Muslims regard them as authentic revelations that reaffirm and complete earlier scriptures. The validity of either position ultimately depends upon one’s religious convictions.

If one accepts the premise that knowingly misrepresenting divine revelation constitutes a grave moral offense, then such an act could be regarded as a mortal sin deserving of God’s judgment. In Islamic belief, Azrael, the Angel of Death, carries out God’s command in receiving the souls of the deceased; he is not an independent agent who determines guilt or innocence.

Beyond these theological disputes, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been widely criticized for its treatment of political opponents, ethnic and religious minorities, and neighboring states. Critics argue that the state’s ideology — combining religious fundamentalism with an authoritarian interpretation of Iranian nationalism — has contributed to repression, discrimination, and regional conflict.

These criticisms, however, are directed at the policies and conduct of the Iranian government and its security institutions, rather than at the Iranian people as a whole or all followers of Islam.

If one is interested in the etymology of the word Tehran (in Kurdish pronounced Taran), some writers have proposed that it derives from the Kurdish expression “Ta-Raan, Tarranin, Tarrani,” meaning “those who have been expelled into exile because of their misconduct.” This interpretation is not accepted by mainstream historical linguistics, but it has been advanced by some authors searching for an alternative and meaningful explanation of the city’s name.

To those who embrace this interpretation, the name appears symbolically fitting. Since the establishment of the Islamic Republic, thousands of former residents of Tehran, together with many other Iranians, have left the country and now live abroad in exile or in the diaspora. Many continue to hope for the day when they can return to the city they once called home.

Critics of the Islamic Republic argue that Tehran has been transformed by a ruling establishment dominated by radical Shiite clerics whose political ideology has profoundly reshaped the country’s institutions and society. Some commentators draw historical parallels between revolutionary militancy and earlier movements in Persian history, including the Nizari Isma’ili movement associated with Hasan-i Sabbah and the medieval Assassins.

Now that Iran finds itself in what many critics describe as a political and moral purgatory, the country’s prolonged crises have brought immense suffering to its people.

In the view of those critics, the Islamic Republic has reached a point from which meaningful reform is no longer possible, leaving the country at a historic crossroads.

Some observers argue that establishing a genuinely democratic Iran — one founded upon respect for human rights, the rule of law, and the right of self-determination for the country’s non-Persian national communities — will remain exceedingly difficult so long as political power continues to be concentrated in a centralized state dominated by Persian militants.

They contend that, whether represented by the present ruling establishment or by certain opposition movements, competing political factions often seek to preserve centralized authority from Tehran rather than fundamentally reimagine the relationship between the state and Iran’s diverse national, ethnic, and linguistic communities.

From this perspective, the challenge facing Iran is not merely replacing one government with another, but transforming the political structure itself so that all citizens and national communities enjoy equal rights, political representation, and constitutional protection by willful association or separation.

Without such structural change, critics argue, the succession of one ruling group by another risks perpetuating the same cycle of authoritarianism, with Tehran continuing to symbolize centralized power long after the current regime has passed into history.

The former Iranian monarchy, according to its critics, also bears responsibility for a legacy of political myths and historical distortions. These critics contend that the Pahlavi state promoted an idealized narrative of an uninterrupted Persian imperial civilization while downplaying the complex and multiethnic character of the ancient Iranian world.

They further argue that the Cyrus Cylinder, often celebrated as an early declaration of human rights, has been presented in ways that exaggerate its significance. Many historians regard the inscription as a Babylonian royal proclamation written in the traditional Mesopotamian style rather than as a modern charter of universal human rights. Critics therefore contend that modern political interpretations of the Cylinder have projected contemporary ideals onto an ancient document.

Some scholars also challenge nationalist narratives that attribute the entirety of ancient Iranian civilization exclusively to the Persians, who were indeed the original hired military guards serving under the Medes.

They argue instead that the development of the region and Iranian civilization was shaped by numerous peoples, including the Sumerians, the Elamites, and the Medes as the predecessors of modern Kurdish culture. From this perspective, claims of exclusive Persian ownership of that heritage amount to historical falsehood and misrepresentation rather than balanced scholarly accounts of history.

Viewed through the theological framework presented in this essay, political falsehoods, cultural appropriation, historical distortion, and religious hypocrisy constitute grave moral offenses. Consequently, the Angel of Death, Azrael, serves as a symbolic reminder that no ruler, dynasty, or ideology is exempt from divine judgment. Whether monarchist or Islamist, any regime that builds its legitimacy upon deception, oppression, and injustice must ultimately answer for its deeds before history — and, according to the beliefs of the faithful, before the judgment of the civilized world and ultimately before God.

What Comes After Death

From dust to dust, life shall rise anew — but not for a country known as Iran. Instead, what once bore that name may become a region within a transformed Middle East.

In ancient Sumerian mythology, Tiamat is the primordial being associated with the chaotic waters of creation. She represents disorder and the untamed forces that precede the formation of the world.

According to the myth, Tiamat is defeated by her offspring, Marduk, who divides her body and fashions from it the heavens and the earth. Having subdued chaos, Marduk establishes order and becomes the supreme deity of ancient Babylon.

The moral symbolism of this story is that creation emerges from chaos. The destruction of the old gives rise to a new order, transforming darkness and disorder into a structured and flourishing world. As a literary metaphor, it suggests that periods of profound upheaval can become the foundation upon which a new era is built.

Like Tiamat in the ancient Mesopotamian myth, Iran and its successive regimes are portrayed as forces that have produced prolonged chaos and disorder, both within the country’s borders and throughout the wider region. In this interpretation, the time has come to bring an end to the existing political structure and to replace it with a new political order.

Drawing upon the symbolism of Marduk’s defeat of Tiamat, the argument proposes that the existing Iranian state should be dissolved and replaced by separate political entities in which the country’s diverse national minorities may freely determine their own futures.

Such a transformation, it argues, should be guided not by vengeance or conquest, but by the principles of self-determination, human rights, democratic governance, and peaceful coexistence, consistent with the standards of modern civil society and international law. Through this process, new states could emerge in which the aspirations and cultural identities of their peoples are recognized and protected.

Conclusion

In conclusion, if Iran were to face political collapse, national minorities such as the long-struggling Kurds of Rojhelat (Eastern Kurdistan) may seek to establish their own governing institutions rather than remain tied to longstanding forms of Persian religious nationalism.

Likewise, the Arab population of the southern province of Khuzestan could seek closer political and security cooperation with neighboring Arab states and communities. The Baloch people, who have their own long history of political and social struggle, may also pursue closer relations with the Baloch population across the border in Pakistan, with whom they share historical, cultural, and predominantly Sunni Muslim ties.

Under such a scenario, the remaining Iranian state could require an internationally supervised transition to restore political stability, economic recovery, and effective governance. One possible approach would be a United Nations–mandated transitional administration, supported by major international powers, including the United States, with the objective of facilitating security, reconstruction, humanitarian assistance, and the eventual establishment of representative and accountable institutions in accordance with international law.

Ardishir Rashidi-Kalhur, the President of Kurdish American Education Society, Los Angeles, U.S.

The opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of iKurd.net or its editors.

Copyright © 2026 iKurd.net. All rights reserved.

The post Who Are the Persians? – Part IX appeared first on iKurd News.

Dr. Pirot Mohammed Amin | Exclusive to iKurd.net
Translated by iKurd.net from Kurdish Awene

Starlink is a satellite internet service developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. To provide internet access, the system uses thousands of connected satellites that form a network capable of delivering high-speed internet.

The official introduction and launch of Starlink’s satellite internet service in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region mark a strategic turning point in the region’s technology landscape.

At the same time, following the Iraqi federal government’s decision in Baghdad to approve Starlink’s operating license, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Ministry of Transport and Communications announced that the company has officially submitted an application to operate and provide its services in the Kurdistan Region.

Starlink offers an internet service that does not rely on international cable lines or ground towers. This feature allows citizens and institutions, even in the most remote mountain villages of Kurdistan and the isolated deserts of Iraq, to access the global internet with very low latency.

This technological transformation supports the economic sectors and social communications, while also becoming a major driver for the public sector. Greater confidence in digital infrastructure will encourage foreign investment, as stable and secure internet access has always been one of the main requirements for investors.

The arrival of Starlink technology in the Kurdistan Region will have a significant impact on the local internet service market and will directly challenge the position of local companies that have operated for years through land-based infrastructure and fiber-optic (FTTH) networks.

This development marks the beginning of the end of an era in which citizens had no choice but to choose from a limited number of local providers. The impact of this new technology is not limited to providing faster internet; it will fundamentally change the entire strategy, pricing, and service quality offered by the local telecommunications sector.

Although this step presents a promising future, it also places government authorities under significant pressure to establish the legal and financial framework for this service. The issue of pricing and the purchasing power of citizens will be one of the main challenges, as Starlink equipment and monthly subscription fees are relatively high compared to the income levels of citizens.

Starlink’s major impact on land-based internet service providers will lead to a loss of market share in large projects and the commercial sector because Starlink will become a strong alternative for providing internet services to companies, institutions, banks, and government offices.

In response, local internet companies will be forced to accelerate and expand the installation of fiber-optic internet connections to homes in urban areas. To retain customers, they will also need to lower prices, remove data caps, and improve the quality of their technical support services.

Political and economic interests are another important reason behind the strong support for this project. The telecommunications and internet sector in the Kurdistan Region has long been one of the main and most profitable sources of income for groups with political and business interests.

For this reason, the entry of a giant company like SpaceX into the local market is unlikely to happen without negotiations and behind-the-scenes agreements. The main interest of these groups is to become authorized dealers for selling Starlink equipment and providing its services within the region. As a result, Starlink could become a new source of financial profit, but this time under the name of a modern global brand.

At the same time, Starlink will also be used for national projects, government institutions, shopping centers, large commercial buildings, and oil fields, which are also under the control of these interest groups.

The political benefit of this model lies in obtaining “authorized dealership licenses.” In most countries, SpaceX cannot directly sell Starlink equipment without having a local partner to handle legal and logistical matters.

In this case, groups with vested interests receive official dealership licenses from the government, purchase the equipment in bulk at discounted international prices, and then resell it in the local market to citizens at much higher prices. The difference between the original purchase price and the local selling price becomes a large and quick source of profit for these companies.

Examining Starlink’s costs within the economic reality of the Kurdistan Region leads directly to the conclusion that, instead of becoming a general solution, this service may become a heavy financial burden when compared with the purchasing power of citizens.

When we consider the cost of about $600 (approximately 900,000 Iraqi dinars) just for the Starlink dish and router, along with a monthly subscription of $110 (more than 165,000 Iraqi dinars), it becomes clear how this technology shifts from being a communications option to becoming a significant economic burden that most families cannot afford.

This initial payment, which is close to one million Iraqi dinars, is equivalent to the full salary of one or two months for a mid-level government employee or the monthly income of a local small business owner. In a financial environment such as the Kurdistan Region, where economic confidence remains low, paying such an amount in advance puts the service beyond the reach of most people.

A quick comparison between the cost of Starlink and the fiber-optic or 4G internet services currently used by people makes this financial gap even clearer. Today, the average monthly household spending on internet services in the Kurdistan Region ranges between 35,000 and 50,000 Iraqi dinars. Therefore, paying 165,000 Iraqi dinars per month means tripling the average communication expenses.

For an average citizen living in urban areas who already has a reliable internet connection through land-based infrastructure, switching to Starlink would be an economically illogical and impractical decision that would place a serious strain on household finances.

In conclusion, this entire process demonstrates how political interests can transform any new global technology from a tool for expanding access into a new source of financial profit. In such a system, at every stage—from importing and selling the equipment to installation and monthly subscriptions—the interests of powerful stakeholders are fully protected, while the customer is left to bear the cost of every intermediary involved.

This article was originally published in the Kurdish language in Awene Newspaper on July 23, 2026.

The opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of iKurd.net or its editors.

Copyright © 2026 iKurd.net. All rights reserved.

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WASHINGTON,— U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that a civilian nuclear cooperation deal with Saudi Arabia will only move forward if the kingdom agrees to normalize relations with Israel, something Riyadh has repeatedly declined to do.

Trump said the deal would only take effect if Saudi Arabia signs on to the Abraham Accords, the U.S.-brokered agreements under which several Arab nations have established formal ties with Israel.

Saudi Arabia has long said it will not join the accords unless there is a clear path toward Palestinian statehood.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump had discussed linking the nuclear deal to the Abraham Accords with Gulf and Arab leaders on several occasions. She said if Saudi Arabia does not join the accords, “the deal is off.”

The United States and Saudi Arabia announced the nuclear agreement on Wednesday. It would allow Riyadh to enrich uranium and build nuclear reactors using American technology, without the immediate inspection requirements that Washington has demanded from Iran.

In a post on Truth Social Thursday, Trump wrote that the civil nuclear deal, which he said includes no enrichment of material, applies only to non-military uses similar to those already granted to Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

He said any approval depends entirely on Saudi Arabia joining what he called the “very respected and successful” Abraham Accords.

Trump added that the United States does not object to civil, non-enriched nuclear facilities.

Under the terms described, Congress will have 90 legislative days to review the agreement before it can take effect.

A two-year feasibility study would also be conducted on the enrichment portion of the deal.

The Saudi Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment on Trump’s remarks.

Before Trump tied the deal to the Abraham Accords, Saudi officials said the agreement supports efforts to diversify the kingdom’s energy sources and follows the highest international standards for nuclear safety, security and nonproliferation.

Leavitt said the administration will keep talking with Saudi officials to finalize the deal and said she hopes the kingdom will join the Abraham Accords soon.

She said she did not believe Trump had spoken directly with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman since posting his message, though the topic had come up in earlier discussions.

The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain became the first Arab nations in 25 years to recognize Israel when they signed the Abraham Accords in 2020, during Trump’s first term. Morocco and Sudan later joined as well.

Israel, which had expressed concern that the Saudi nuclear deal could spark a regional arms race, welcomed the new condition.

A statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office called Saudi Arabia’s potential entry into the accords a historic step toward peace in the Middle East.

Leavitt said she was not aware of any request from Netanyahu to attach the accords condition to the nuclear deal.

Officials said Wednesday that the agreement complies with the U.S. Atomic Energy Act’s nonproliferation rules, among the strictest in the world.

The deal would permit uranium enrichment and reprocessing of nuclear waste, both of which can lead toward weapons capability. The UAE agreed to avoid both when it signed a similar deal with Washington in 2009.

It remains unclear exactly what Trump meant by saying there would be no enrichment under the deal, or whether he was referring specifically to weapons-grade uranium, which is enriched to about 90%, compared with the up to 6% enrichment used for reactor fuel.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said it is waiting for a formal request from Washington and Riyadh before it can begin implementing verification measures and seeking approval from its board of governors.

(With files from Reuters)

Copyright © 2026 iKurd.net. All rights reserved.

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The Arabization of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region?! – Part II

Salih Zhajlayi | Exclusive to iKurd.net
Translated by iKurd.net from Kurdish Awene

In the first part of this article, I wrote some introductory remarks and asked readers to read the author’s entire article. In this part, I want to discuss some details.

Mr. Niyaz Saeed Ali, out of a sense of responsibility and concern for his homeland, wrote a long and comprehensive article on June 14, 2016 in issue 69999 of Kurdistani Nwe and on most other websites, titled “(Regarding a Request by the Sulaimani Chamber of Commerce to the Governor of Sulaimani).” They requested permission to allow Arab citizens to purchase apartments and properties and have them officially registered in their names.

His article was published under the title: “A Suspicious Proposal by the Sulaimani Chamber of Commerce to the Honorable Governor of Sulaimani.” The Governor, without careful consideration or consulting experts, specialists, or senior government officials, quickly approved the Chamber of Commerce’s suspicious proposal.

Anyone with even a basic understanding can clearly see that the Chamber of Commerce’s request to the Governor, and the Governor’s approval of it, raise serious doubts and suggest that there were hidden motives behind it.

Even more surprising is that once the Governor received the Chamber’s request, he immediately met with representatives of the Chamber of Commerce and began drafting the decision on June 3, 2016, even though that day was a Friday, an official holiday.

However, because the Chamber of Commerce’s suspicious proposal had hidden intentions behind it, there is no doubt that the Governor was already fully aware of the proposal’s details and that it served the interests of certain parties. That is why they drafted the decision on a Friday, so that no one would become aware of its issuance and expose their plan.

For that reason, they acted quickly and officially announced the decision through document No. 6448 on Monday, June 6, 2016.

They justified this dangerous decision by claiming that it would develop the tourism sector and strengthen the economy of the Kurdistan Region.

Now consider this: whenever officials want to issue a decision that serves their own interests, they act quickly and then provide weak justifications for it. According to them, this decision was supposedly made for the benefit of the people of the Kurdistan Region, and everyone would benefit from it.

But the question is this:

Will the tourism sector really become stronger by allowing Arab citizens to buy apartments and property? Or would it be strengthened by investing in tourist sites and improving roads and infrastructure?

Will the economy of the Kurdistan Region and its economic foundation become stronger by allocating land through long-term leases to investors so they can establish commercial and industrial companies, create jobs, and reduce unemployment? Or should a decision be made to Arabize the Kurdistan Region simply for the benefit of a group of greedy, homeland-selling investors?

The approval of the Chamber of Commerce’s suspicious proposal serves only one purpose: to provide land almost free of charge to greedy investors so they can make enormous profits—and nothing more.

When Arab citizens come in large numbers and buy apartments, property prices will rise beyond the reach of local citizens. Therefore, those who truly benefit are the greedy investors and the Arab buyers. As a result, the Kurds themselves will have helped carry out the plan to Arabize the Kurdistan Region.

Even more surprising is that for such an important and strategic issue, extensive research and careful investigation should have been conducted.

The proposal should have been reviewed by several research centers, all of its positive and negative consequences should have been studied, all senior government officials should have been informed, and their approval should have been obtained before allowing Arab citizens to buy and register property in their names.

Even more astonishing is that the Provincial Council was not informed of this important issue. Everything took place only between the Governor at that time and the members of the Sulaimani Chamber of Commerce.

Can anyone really believe that the members of the Chamber of Commerce were so devoted to the homeland that they lost sleep worrying about the future of the Kurdistan Region?

These are simply a group of suspicious businessmen, nothing more.

Therefore, the doubts become even greater. There were clearly hidden motives behind the scenes, and such a dangerous decision, serving the interests of Arab citizens and working against the Kurdistan Region, would never have been issued so quickly without hidden reasons.

The Governor of Sulaimani’s approval of the Chamber of Commerce’s suspicious proposal to allow Arab citizens to purchase apartments and houses has already shown its negative effects. It has become a serious threat to the demographic balance of the Kurdistan Region.

Changing the demographic balance means increasing the number of Arab citizens while reducing the proportion of Kurdish citizens compared to Arab citizens. In the end, this becomes a major threat to the future of the Kurdistan Region.

It is time for senior government officials, those who truly care about the homeland, to form an investigative committee and thoroughly investigate everyone involved in this dangerous decision, to determine how such a serious decision was secretly and hastily issued without informing any other government institutions.

If other government bodies were also aware of it, they too should be investigated, because this is an offense that should not be forgiven.

In my opinion, the investigation should begin as follows:

First: When the Governor issued the decision allowing apartments, properties, and houses to be sold to Arab citizens, were the Prime Minister and the senior party leadership informed?

If they were not informed, then why was such a decision made independently?

If, however, they had been informed and the Governor acted under their direction, then criticism and demands for accountability should be directed toward those higher authorities.

But if the Governor acted independently, without consulting his superiors, based solely on the Chamber of Commerce’s suspicious proposal, then the Governor bears primary responsibility and should face a thorough investigation.

Second: A detailed investigation should be conducted into every member of the Sulaimani Chamber of Commerce, their positions, personal backgrounds, financial status, business activities, and the sectors in which they operate.

Do any of them work in apartment construction? Or do they have close ties with those involved in building apartments and selling real estate?

Such an investigation would uncover many important hidden facts and provide answers to these questions.

Third: The following question must be answered:

Was the Chamber of Commerce’s proposal to the Governor truly intended to promote economic development as a patriotic duty and out of concern for the people of Kurdistan?

Or was its real purpose to allow a small group of people to make huge profits, become wealthy at the public’s expense, obtain government land almost free of charge, build apartments on it, sell them for enormous sums, and receive a share of those profits behind the scenes?

Why is it that all senior government officials, the Governor, and the Chamber of Commerce members believed that the only way to develop tourism and the economy of the Kurdistan Region was to build large numbers of apartments and then make it easier to sell them to Arab citizens?

Throughout all these years, why did they not encourage anyone to establish factories, investment projects, or major companies that would produce goods, strengthen the region’s economy, and provide jobs for unemployed people?

Show me just one project built by an investor that has created real production and provided employment opportunities for unemployed citizens.

Therefore, expanding apartment construction projects and giving government land free of charge to a group of greedy, homeland-selling investors serve only one purpose: enriching a select group of people who share these benefits with the highest government officials and party leaders.

In another article, I discussed the importance of consultation and advisors, and how essential they are in every area of life today.

Seeking advice from knowledgeable and experienced advisors is the key to the success of every leader, regardless of the field.

Unfortunately, our leaders attach no importance to consultation.

It is unclear whether they simply do not understand its value or whether they believe they have no need for advisors.

For Kurdish leaders, personal loyalty is more important than professional advice. They prefer people who stay close to them, accept everything they say without question, whether right or wrong, and simply repeat their statements to the public.

They do not want knowledgeable and sincere advisors around them who would point out their mistakes and warn them of the dangers they face.

One of the main reasons for the current difficult situation in the Kurdistan Region, and the many threats it faces, is that consultation and professional advice have been ignored.

Now let us return to our main subject: the Arabization of the Kurdistan Region.

If senior government officials and party leaders truly believed in consultation and professional advisors, they should have assigned people to read newspapers, websites, and Facebook pages every day to understand what the public was writing, what people expected from the government, what proposals they had, and what criticisms they were making.

Those advisors would then present all of this information to the officials, who, according to their responsibilities, would address the problems, correct mistakes and shortcomings, and respond to the concerns of the public.

If consultation and advisors had truly existed or been valued, how could such a flawed and dangerous decision have been issued without senior government officials even being aware of it, allowing it to move directly into implementation?

If government officials truly cared about this homeland, especially the city of Sulaimani, how could no government official have read Mr. Niyaz Saeed Ali’s important analytical article regarding the Governor’s decision to allow Arab citizens to purchase apartments and property?

In truth, I myself only recently learned about this decision by the Governor and the Sulaimani Chamber of Commerce, and I was previously unaware of Mr. Niyaz Saeed Ali’s article.

However, I have no doubt that there were people who knew about what was happening behind the scenes.

I hope that from now on, all of us will remain more alert and aware of the dangers facing the Kurdistan Region, that we will not remain silent, and that we will make these matters public so the public can be informed about these threats.

Salih Zhajlayi, one of the political figures in Sulaimani city, Iraqi Kurdistan, and formerly the Deputy Head of the General Assembly of the Gorran (Change) Movement, is currently working independently in Sulaimani.

This article was originally published in the Kurdish language in Awene Newspaper on July 23, 2026.

The opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of iKurd.net or its editors.

Copyright © 2026 iKurd.net. All rights reserved.

The post Who’s Really Arabizing Kurdistan? It’s Not Baghdad – Part II appeared first on iKurd News.

TEHRAN,— Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi traveled to Tehran on Thursday for talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, where officials from both countries signed four cooperation agreements, Zaidi’s office said.

The premier also took part in broader discussions with Iranian officials covering economic ties, security matters and other shared concerns, the office added.

The two leaders took part in a signing ceremony for the agreements and memoranda of understanding, meant to strengthen cooperation and partnership between the two countries, according to a statement from Zaidi’s office.

The four accords include a deal on international road transport and freight, along with a memorandum to extend a rail line from Kermanshah in western Iran, through the border crossing at Khosravi, to Khanaqin in eastern Iraq and eventually to Baghdad.

A separate memorandum established a twinning arrangement between Baghdad’s mayoralty and the municipality of Tehran.

A fourth agreement focused on public administration and training for human resources, the statement said.

Zaidi led the Iraqi delegation during the expanded discussions with Iranian counterparts, headed by Pezeshkian. He raised regional security as a shared concern, saying Iraq would not allow any threat against Iran to originate from Iraqi soil.

He also acknowledged Iran’s backing of Iraq during its war against the Islamic State group between 2014 and 2017.

No sign of Mojtaba Khamenei

U.S. President Donald Trump said on July 14 that Iran’s military leadership had effectively collapsed, saying Ali Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was “90% gone.”

The comment came months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in March that Mojtaba Khamenei, identified as Iran’s new supreme leader, had suffered injuries and was likely left disfigured.

Iranian officials have continued to refer to Mojtaba Khamenei by name, yet no footage, recording, written statement or public appearance linked to him has ever emerged.

He was also absent from his father’s funeral procession, an event that drew millions of mourners in Iran.

That absence, along with the total lack of any confirmed sighting, has led some observers to suggest he may have been killed.

A number of analysts and political figures around the world have said Iran’s current leadership no longer functions as a diplomatic government, describing it instead as acting more like an armed militant faction.

Some have gone further, characterizing the leadership as behaving like gangs or pirates rather than a recognized government.

Zaidi described his trip to Iran as a reflection of the strength of ties between the two nations and said it renews a relationship built on what he called a bridge of goodwill between the Iraqi and Iranian people, citing shared religion, culture, geography and civilization.

Pezeshkian thanked the Iraqi people for what he called a generous gesture during a recent funeral of Ali Khamenei procession in Iraq.

The Tehran visit follows Zaidi’s return to Iraq on Sunday after a five-day trip to the United States, where he met with Trump, Hegseth and other senior U.S. officials.

The trip also comes as tension between Iran and the United States continues to build. The standoff, which started in early July, reached its sixteenth day on Thursday. Iranian officials have warned they could target regional infrastructure and oil shipments if Iranian sites come under attack or if Iran is blocked from exporting oil.

That warning followed comments from Trump, who said the U.S. would strike a bridge and a power plant for every vessel Iran’s military attacks in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump also threatened to strike a new nuclear site Iran is allegedly building in Isfahan province.

(With files from Agencies)

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BAGHDAD,— Iraq’s oil minister, Basim Mohammed, said Tuesday that deals signed between the oil ministry and U.S. firms during Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s trip to the United States are worth close to $200 billion.

He made the comment in an interview with Iraqi state television.

Mohammed said the deals will boost oil output capacity and raise investment in related natural gas projects. He noted that Iraq’s current oil production stands at 4.8 million barrels a day.

Like many oil-rich nations, Iraq faces a common problem: drawing in investment and growing output while staying within limits set by the OPEC+ group of producers.

Despite holding some of the largest crude reserves in the world, long-running production caps have made it harder for Iraq to lift revenue and meet the needs of its fast-growing population.

(With files from Reuters)

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