BERLIN,— A Germany-based human rights group has accused the Trump administration of hypocrisy and racist behavior over travel bans targeting athletes from Muslim countries.

The Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) said the bans discriminate against individual Muslims while the U.S. government maintains close ties with countries it says fund radical Islamist groups.

“While the U.S. supports close allies like Qatar and Turkey, which are responsible for arming and financing radical Islamists, individual Muslims are being discriminated against and disadvantaged,” said Dr. Kamal Sido, the group’s Middle East expert.

Among those affected is Omar Artan, a Somali referee nominated for the World Cup, along with athletes from Iran and other predominantly Muslim nations, according to GfbV.

Sido pointed to the U.S. treatment of Syria’s new leader, previously listed on American terror watchlists as a senior jihadist, as further evidence of double standards.

U.S. authorities removed him from the terror list and allowed him to enter the country multiple times, Sido said, citing reported financial flows from Qatar and other Gulf states as a factor in that decision.

The German federal government also received the Syrian leader Ahmad al Sharaa in Berlin. The official had operated until recently under the name Abu Mohamed al-Golani.

Sido also noted that Turkey, under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, backs Islamist militias in Somalia, the home country of the rejected referee Artan. He said Erdogan, like Syria’s new ruler, is courted by the U.S. and NATO partners rather than challenged.

“This is not just about individual cases. Muslims as a whole are being disadvantaged and discriminated against, while political Islam and violent Islamists are viewed as partners by the very same politicians and governments,” Sido told GfbV.

“If it were truly about security interests, the fight would be against radical political Islam and not against individual Muslims, who are themselves victims of the regimes and militias,” he added.

Qatar, which hosts the political leadership of Hamas, faces repeated accusations of bankrolling Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamist extremist networks, and the Islamic State group across multiple regions.

Critics say Doha has served as a financial lifeline for some of the most dangerous armed Islamist factions operating worldwide.

Turkey and its ruling Justice and Development Party, known as AKP, face similarly serious charges. Ankara stands widely accused of sheltering Muslim Brotherhood figures, providing logistical backing, and operating as a base for multiple radical Islamist organizations.

Analysts and governments alike say Turkey under the AKP has enabled extremist networks to recruit, regroup, and operate with little interference, making it a hub for Islamist activity that threatens regional and global stability.

With files from The Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV)

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ISTANBUL,— Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “following the path of Hitler,” escalating a public dispute between the two leaders after Netanyahu described Erdogan as an “antisemitic dictator” and accused him of committing “genocide” against the Kurds.

Relations between Turkey and Israel have deteriorated sharply since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023.

Since then, both governments have repeatedly exchanged accusations of genocide and traded public criticism.

The latest confrontation followed comments made by Erdogan on Wednesday regarding Israel’s activities in Lebanon and Syria.

He said developments in those countries posed a risk to Turkey’s security and emphasized that Ankara viewed regional events beyond its borders as directly linked to its national interests.

“Turkey’s security doesn’t just start in (its southernmost province of) Hatay, it begins in Aleppo, in Damascus and in Beirut,” Erdogan said.

He also warned that Turkey would not accept any “fait accompli” in neighboring states, remarks widely understood as referring to concerns about Israel creating permanent conditions on the ground.

Netanyahu responded by reaffirming Israel’s determination to conduct military operations where necessary against threats posed by Iran and groups aligned with it.

“The antisemitic dictator Erdogan, who commits genocide against the Kurds, supports the Hamas terrorist organisation, oppresses his own people and imprisons political rivals, is the last person who can lecture Israel on morality,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

He added that Israel would continue taking strong action against Iran and its proxies, which he said threatened both the Middle East and the wider world.

Erdogan answered those remarks on Thursday, repeating his criticism of Israel’s leadership and drawing a comparison with historical dictators.

“Those who follow Hitler’s path should not forget their fate will be like that of other tyrants in history,” he said.

Erdogan also said Israel, under its current government, had become a source of instability and pledged that those responsible for what he described as massacres would face accountability.

Israel has carried out bombardments in southern Lebanon since Hezbollah began launching missiles toward northern Israel on March 2, bringing Lebanon into the broader Middle East conflict.

Although an April ceasefire temporarily reduced hostilities, fighting has continued while negotiations in Washington aimed at ending the violence remain underway.

Israel has also conducted hundreds of strikes in Syria and maintained regular incursions into the country’s south, where it is seeking a demilitarized zone.

Turkey has meanwhile been working to resolve its long-running conflict with the Kurdish militant PKK.

The PKK began its armed campaign against the Turkish state in 1984, seeking greater autonomy in Turkish Kurdistan for the Kurdish minority, which accounted for nearly 30% of Turkey’s population of 85 million.

Turkey says the conflict has resulted in more than 40,000 deaths among Turkish soldiers and Kurdish guerrillas.

The PKK last year declared an end to its armed campaign against Ankara.

(With files from AFP | Agencies)

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Sheri Laizer | Exclusive to iKurd.net

Migrating to the Mesopotamian plains from northern Iraq and the Zagros mountains, the Sumerians brought written literature and music whose echoes resound anew…

“Enten is behind us, the winter darkness is no more.
Imhullu lies coiled in the mountain.
Who would disturb him?”
(Sumerian text)

Introduction

Wondering how Sumerian music sounds when I first heard Kurdish uzun hava (long air) music playing in the hills outside Jerusalem I got an exciting tingle along my spine. It was probably an old recording of Hasan Zirek that I heard. By 1985, I had begun working with Kurdish singers and musicians and presenting them at World Music festivals and writing the notes for recordings.

For three years before this discovery, I’d been researching Sumerian civilisation, based in the Valley of the Kings and later in the West Bank. The protracted Iran-Iraq war had made visas to Iraq very hard to get. Finally, in September 1989, the Iraqi Cultural Centre presented me with an invitation to travel to Iraq.

The ms. of my book, Ziggurats, was near completed and it was the key to the door. I was tactful not to mention living among the Kurds in Turkey between 1985-1988.

Years of reading Sumerian texts in translation and visiting the Mesopotamian sections of the British Museum took me inside Sumerian thought. Setting foot in Iraq did the rest. The passion burned bright.

The legacy of the great city of Ur dedicated to the moon deity, Nanna

The ruins of the Sumerian ziggurat of Ur were first re-appraised by King Nabonidus of Neo-Babylonian reign (556-539 BCE…), who began to restore Sippar, Ur and Babylon. Many inscriptions survive.

“This inscription emphasizes divine mandates for the restorations, references to earlier kings like Naram-Sin whose foundations were uncovered, and prayers for protection against threats from the Medes and Persians, reflecting Nabonidus’s efforts to legitimize his rule through religious renewal.[1] Similarly, a cylinder from Ur in the British Museum records the rebuilding of Sin‘s ziggurat there, invoking the moon-god’s favour for Nabonidus and his son Belshazzar, who acted as regent during the king’s prolonged absence.[2]”

The ziggurat at Ur was originally constructed in the reign of King Ur-Namma around 2112-2095 BCE.2

Nabonidus is known as the last king of Babylon, long after the Sumerian era.

No further significant restorations were initiated until the 1980s by President Saddam Hussein. The ziggurats were visible from miles around standing above the flat plains, situated close to the Euphrates (Firat) and Tigris (Dicle) rivers, lush with palm groves and reeds. Restoration has finally begun anew. 3

The ziggurat

In Sumerian, the pyramid structure was named an unir and ziggurratum (or ziggurartu) in Akkadian, meaning peak, pinnacle or high place. The top level offered a platform and temple where rituals would be performed for audiences far below.

Some rituals involved the high priestess of Inanna, the Sumerian forerunner of Venus, in initiation rites with the king of the city. Each city had its patron saint or deity.

The Sumerian people are currently thought to have originated from northern Iraq and the Zagros Mountain regions – long populated by the Kurds.

The Sumerians expressed emotions like nostalgia and remembrance for the mountains in poems, epics and hymns. They built ziggurat (stepped pyramids) as stairways to heaven where men could attain the realm of the deities.

The Sumerian archaeological period is known as the Uruk period dating to between 4000-3000 BC, taking its name from the city site of Uruk in southern Mesopotamia, today’s Iraq. It followed the period of the Ubaid culture spanning between 6000-4000 BC. The Early Dynastic period that succeeded Uruk then dates to 2900 – 2334 BCE.

Scientists most recently researching Mesopotamian DNA and that of the Levant consider there to have been mass migration from northern Iraq and the southern Zagros before 4000 BC with the movement of people down into the Mesopotamian plains all the way to the Persian Gulf after the Neolithic period.4

The south westerly migration is also traced to the Levant in Syria and Palestine with migration from northern Mesopotamia evident in the influential Neolithic cultures of Halaf (where the Khabur river meets the Euphrates in the north-east of Syria at Ras al-Ain/SE Turkey, the later Kurdish crossroads) and Hassuna (from c.7000 -5900 BCE). The site of Hassuna lies just 10 or kms south of the Abbasid stronghold of Samarra on the Tigris (Tell Hassuna/ Tell es-Sawwan).

Sumerian – A unique language (isolate)

Linguistic data about the relation of Hurrian and Sumerian further confirms the migration theory.5 Sumerian was a unique, isolate language. The Sumerians invented the cuneiform wedge-cut system of writing on clay tablets – the first known system.

They also invented the wheel and the sexagesimal numeral system with its base of 60, that passed down through the Babylonians to us. The sixty minute hour and the sixty second minute derive from this base. Their knowledge of mathematics and compiling lists extended to stock taking and economic record keeping on tablets. They maintained a list of kings from the earliest times.6

Irrigation, and the plough, are also a Sumerian legacy. The practised agriculture and farming keeping dairy herds, goats and sheep.

These passionate human beings made music, danced and sang, performed acrobats, and enjoyed drinking beer. Their pottery, sculpture and jewellery were all highly advanced and detailed. Artisans also undertook weaving.

Astronomy and astrology

The Sumerians identified and depicted the five visible major celestial bodies, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, along with the sun and the moon. They composed maps of the stars on tablets and formed a system of astrological lore.

Eleven planets with a twelfth further away can be seen on some of the clay tablets demonstrating their understanding of the solar system as well as the relative sizes of the different planets.

Sumerian musical instruments from the 3rd millennium BCE

The flute (Kurdish ney) and the double reed pipe – (Kurdish, duduk).

An academic research article, Extant silver pipes from Ur, 2450 BC explains: “Several Mesopotamian texts associate pipes (Sumerian gi-írra, gi-gíd, di-di [from gi=tube]8, with the shepherd-god Dumuzi who was the lover of the goddess Inanna9…The pipes fell silent when he descended to the underworld; when he returned the pipes were again played, and the living rejoiced (Dalley 1988, 160). Perhaps the destruction of the pipes in PG/333 was a reference to the silence of Dumuzi’s pipes in the underworld…”10

Dumuzi is the forerunner of the later Tammuz – a name still used as Temmuz, the month of July when everything perishes in the heat of summer in Mesopotamia.

The lyre

This was crafted in different sizes, the largest lyre is now thought to sound like a bass viol, the medium sized lyre like a cello, and small hand-held lyres. They range from three strings to as many as twelve strings.

The angular lyre

The Silver lyre found in the Royal Graves of Ur

The gold lyre with bull’s head, found in the Royal Graves of Ur

The boat-necked lyre, found in the Royal Graves of Ur

This harp or lyre (Queen Puabi’s harp) is thought to sound like a small guitar.

The long-necked lute (gish-gu-du)

This stringed instrument is akin to the Kurdish saz, tanbur or Anatolian baglama. The sound depends on the depth of the bowl.

It can have had eight or fewer strings. Canadian musician, Peter Pringle, performs a number of profoundly evocative renditions singing in Sumerian. Various compositions from the Epic of Gilgamesh etc. are played on a reconstructed instrument with just three strings. Pringle has recorded several other pieces of ancient music using reconstructed instruments and now dead languages.

Video: Peter Pringle accompanying Sumerian songs on the gish-gu-du

Drums

Drums included small kettledrums and frame drums whether made of coniferous wood (boxwood), or clay

The percussion instruments

The Sumerian musicians played rattles (sistrum) and used cymbals, and clappers

Trumpet and horns

The qarn, were made from animal horns, mainly from bulls and goats)

Key Discoveries at the Ur site

Eleven stringed instruments were recovered from the Royal Graves at Ur comprising two harps with decorative bulls’ heads and two wind instruments made of silver. (Other sites revealed some flutes or pipes made of bone).

Cuneiform tablets revealed the tuning as well as the playing of the instruments. Penn Museum writes:

We now know that by the Old Babylonian period in ancient Iraq (i.e., by at least ca. 1800 BC, or about 850 years after the period of the Royal Cemetery of Ur), there existed standardized tun­ing procedures that operated within a heptatonic, dia­tonic system consisting of seven different and interrelated scales…

The fact that these seven scales could be equat­ed with seven ancient Greek scales (dating some 1400 years later) quite startled the scholarly community; and the fact that one of the scales in common use was equiv­alent to our own modern major scale (do-re-mi) seemed difficult for many to believe (Fig. 6). But research on the part of several cuneiformists and musi­cologists working together has been strengthened over the years by the steady accumulation of cuneiform tablets that use the same standard corpus of Akkadian terms to designate the names of the musical strings; the names of the instruments and their parts; fingering tech­niques; the names of musical intervals (fifths, fourths, thirds, and sixths); and the names of the seven scales that derive their nomenclature from the particular interval of a fourth or a fifth on which the tuning procedure starts…

It is highly probable that the tuning systems evidenced in the Akkadian language in texts dating from the Old Babylonian to the Neo-Babylonian period (ca. 1800-500 BO had earlier Sumerian antecedents, because many of the technical terms in Akkadian have Sumerian equiva­lents.

Seven scales

The third from bottom scale is equivalent to do-re-mi.

Unlike most documented accounts of music history, the findings at the cemetery of Ur suggest that it was specifically female musicians who maintained and spread Sumerian oral musical tradition…13

Equality of the female with the male

The Abrahamic religions have undermined that natural, harmonious equality that exists between men and women, as was extolled in ancient Sumer – in daily life as in the realm of the natural forces and celestial deities.

Deity was not a man glaring down from the heavens upon homo sapiens, fingering a long beard, with a scroll, and dishing out punishments. This system was created through Judaism, diffuses through Christianity and subsequently Islam. The system remains divisive, and fear based.

The Sumerians were US not THEM. To return intuitively, consider their words and listen to how their music may have been performed with all its passion and emotion is, in my experience, akin to being (psychologically) freed of the accretions of imposed, patriarchal monotheism.

Sheri Laizer, a Middle East and North African expert specialist and well known commentator on the Kurdish issue. She is a senior contributing writer for iKurd.net. More about Sheri Laizer see below.

The post The Spirit of Ancient Sumer Revives appeared first on iKurd News.

SULAIMANI,— Recent census and investment data show that Iraq’s Kurdistan Region has more than 2 million residential units. Despite this large housing stock, more than 400,000 units are currently empty.

Officials say this is largely due to the rapid growth of real estate projects, most of which are apartment buildings, The Channel8 TV reported.

According to Amanj Jalal, Director of Investment in Sulaimani, about 80% of all residential units in the Kurdistan Region are apartments, while only 20% are houses and villas.

He explained that apartments are widely used because they make more efficient use of land.

One dunam of land can hold around 190 to 200 apartment units, while the same area can only accommodate about 15 to 20 houses. This approach is intended to save land and reduce urban sprawl.

Demand for housing varies across the region. In Erbil, Sulaimani, and Duhok, apartments are in higher demand.

However, in areas such as Garmian, Raparin, Soran, and Kirkuk, apartment purchases are much lower. Prices also differ significantly.

The average price per square meter ranges from $400 to $800. In some luxury villas, the price can reach up to $1,000 per square meter. Villa prices overall range from about $250,000 to $1 million.

Over the past 19 years, from 2006 to July 2025, a total of 366 residential projects have received investment licenses in the Kurdistan Region, with a combined value of about $33.488 billion. Between 2019 and 2024 alone, nearly 60 new residential projects were approved.

This rapid development has increased the number of housing units on the market, while demand has not grown at the same pace.

The 2024 census shows that the Kurdistan Region has a population of 6,370,688 people and 2,028,937 residential units.

This means there is roughly one housing unit for every three people. With 1,379,163 households, there are about 649,774 extra housing units overall.

Even if around 200,000 households are renting, there would still be approximately 449,774 vacant homes. In addition, more than 100,000 units are still under construction.

On February 19, 2024, the Kurdistan Region Investment Board decided to suspend new investment licenses in the housing sector.

The goal is to better organize the market and shift development toward projects that benefit low-income families and renters.

However, the decision does not apply to municipal building permits on privately owned land. It only affects projects that require approval from the Investment Board.

(With files from channel8.com)

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Netanyahu Reaffirmed It; Israel’s Prestige Comes Before Everything Else!

Dr. Sharif Ali | Exclusive to iKurd.net
Translated by iKurd.net from Kurdish Awene

Unlike Kurdish leaders, who put their personal and family interests ahead of the national interests of the sacred land of Kurdistan and the great Kurdish nation, and against whom we have much evidence of selling out the land, the latest being the handover of Kirkuk and Khanaqin on October 16 for party interests.

Netanyahu’s rejection of Trump’s proposal (which may itself have been part of a two-sided political maneuver) and Israel’s direct response against Iran have once again proven that Israel places its dignity and sovereignty above everything else.

It even places them above Trump’s request that it delay its attack for a few days. However, the Israelis courageously rejected Trump’s request in practice. That is why Israelis have become an influential people in the Middle East and around the world.

On April 24, 2026, I published an article in Awene titled: “America’s Plans in Continuing the Blockade of Hormuz Against Iran.” Readers can return to that article through the following link to understand those plans, because without understanding them, it is difficult to know why Iran carried out this attack against Israel at this particular time. This is not simply a game like the World Cup. The fundamental issue is this: America has been putting increasing pressure on Iran through the continued blockade of Hormuz.

In particular, America wants to gain a major advantage from increasing both the price and the export volume of American-Venezuelan oil to global markets. It wants to tell the world: “The American-Venezuelan markets are the most stable places for oil sales, and this increases their geopolitical value.” To read the key points of America’s plan regarding the blockade of Hormuz, see the following link:

Another issue that the leaders of Iran’s regime have become convinced of is that the America-Israel strategy is aimed at overthrowing the Iranian regime. This is especially evident in Israel’s determination to continue its attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon, a terrorist organization that has been highly hostile toward the Kurds.

Since 1982, Hezbollah has been Iran’s most effective instrument against the United States and Israel. For this purpose, readers may also review my article published in Awene on May 23, 2026, titled: “Kalafami Must Realize It; Israel Will Not Leave This Iranian Regime Alone!” at the following link:

In short, the Persians are observant and politically aware. It has become clear to them that the continued blockade of Hormuz is weakening Iran and is a practical step in implementing the broader America-Israel strategy to bring down the Iranian regime.

Just as America moved step by step against Saddam’s regime after 1991, and just as America and Israel advanced tactic after tactic against Bashar al-Assad’s regime from 2011 onward, the same approach is now being applied to Iran’s regime.

Each of Iran’s and Israel’s actions and attacks, including the specific targets they have struck, requires deeper analysis and interpretation. However, I know that Kurdish readers generally do not prefer lengthy writing, even when it is useful. Therefore, I will stop with these few brief lines.

There is another issue that is important for the Kurds. In 2007, in a strategic article consisting of twenty-five points, I explained that from the time of Qazi Muhammad until 2007, all leaders of Eastern Kurdistan had made a mistake by choosing the town of Mahabad as the capital of Eastern Kurdistan.

Instead, Kermanshah (Kermanshan) should have been chosen as the capital because, according to those twenty-five points, it possesses the most significant geopolitical position among the four parts of Kurdistan. Likewise, in the coming days, I will write another strategic article titled: “A Message to Massoud Barzani, Mustafa Hijri, and Others!”

In that article, I will deliver a strategic message explaining how Kurdish leaders have made mistakes regarding a strategic issue and failed to recognize its significance. This strategic issue should be understood and utilized for the benefit of Kurdish nationalism.

Up to now, this issue has not been fully understood by any modern nationalist or politician such as Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou, by a classical nationalist such as Mullah Mustafa Barzani, by politicians such as Jalal Talabani and Abdullah Öcalan, by a tribal nationalist such as Msasoud Barzani, or by Kurdish writers in general. They have neither recognized nor understood it.

In that message, I want to clarify how and why Kurdish nationalism must adopt a different path against the occupying powers, a path that is both effective and logically sound.

Dr. Sharif Ali: PhD in International Diplomacy, United Kingdom.

This article was originally published in the Kurdish language in Awene Newspaper on June 8, 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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TEHRAN,— Israel launched strikes on targets in western and central Iran on Monday, prompting reports of explosions in Tehran and two other cities, Iranian state television said.

The action came despite calls from U.S. President Donald Trump for Israel to avoid a response to Tehran’s latest missile attack. The exchanges took place as the conflict reached its 100th day.

The Israeli operation came in direct retaliation after Tehran struck Israel with missiles on Sunday.

Israel said Iran fired 11 missiles, all of which were intercepted, and reported no casualties. Israeli officials described the response as retaliation and said Tehran had made a grave mistake.

Trump publicly urged restraint. Axios journalist Barak Ravid quoted Trump as saying he intended to call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and tell him not to retaliate.

Trump was also quoted as saying both sides had already carried out strikes and that another exchange was unnecessary.

Ravid later reported that a U.S. official said Trump and Netanyahu had spoken, although neither the White House nor Trump had commented.

Iran has maintained that any agreement ending the war must also stop the parallel conflict in Lebanon. Tehran previously warned that any new Israeli attacks on Beirut would lead to a full-scale return to hostilities.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ali Safari told Al-Mayadeen television that Tehran’s missile attack followed weeks of restraint, according to local media reports.

The Revolutionary Guards characterized the strike on Israel as a warning after Israel targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs earlier Monday.

Another Iranian strike on Monday targeted what Tehran described as the headquarters of “terrorist groups” in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Netanyahu’s office said Sunday that Israeli forces struck a militant command center in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district after Hezbollah fired toward Israeli territory. Lebanon’s health ministry said the attack killed two people and wounded 20 others.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker and chief negotiator in discussions with Washington, said the United States had given a green light to the Beirut strike.

He added that U.S. and Israeli assets were now considered legitimate targets.

The head of Iran’s military central command said Israel had crossed all red lines with the Beirut operation and demanded an end to Israeli operations in Lebanon.

The Revolutionary Guards repeated that the attack on Israel was a warning and said any future response would be broader and include all U.S.-Zionist targets in the region.

Iran announced the closure of airspace in the western part of the country. Iraq and Syria adopted similar measures. Local media reported that incoming flights to Tehran’s international airport were also suspended on Sunday.

The escalation pushed crude oil prices higher as prospects faded for a near-term reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for oil and gas shipments that Iran has effectively closed.

Elaheh, a 32-year-old fitness trainer from Ahvaz, told AFP that she had become numb to events and was focused on survival, citing worsening prices and difficult daily conditions.

Mohsin Naqvi visited Tehran over the weekend. Iranian state television reported that Naqvi said he would deliver a special letter from Pakistan’s army chief to Iran’s supreme leader and a message from the prime minister.

Pakistani military leader Syed Asim Munir has been involved in mediation efforts between Iran and the United States after an initial round of direct negotiations in Islamabad.

Mohsen Rezaei, a military adviser to Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, told CNN that negotiations with the United States had reached a deadlock and said Trump needed to break it. He also called for the release of about $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets.

Trump, however, told NBC on Sunday that Iranian assets would not be unfrozen before an initial agreement was reached, adding that talks could begin if Tehran behaved and did a good job.

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper joined calls for restraint on X, saying the resumption of conflict between Iran and Israel was in no one’s interest, and called for diplomacy emphasizing that diplomatic efforts should be prioritized amid rising tensions in the region.

She wrote on X urging continued international engagement to prevent further escalation in the conflict.

(With files from AFP)

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Kurdish peshmerga must fall under state control, a senior Iraqi politician says

BAGHDAD,— A senior Iraqi politician is calling on the federal government to bring Kurdish Peshmerga militia forces and their weapons under full state authority, separate them from the two dominant Kurdish political parties in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, and place them under the command of the Iraqi Armed Forces’ General Commander.

Hassan Fadam, a senior leader within the Al-Hikma National Movement, also known as the National Wisdom Movement, made the remarks in an interview on Thursday with the Iraqi Ahd television channel. The movement is led by Ammar al-Hakim.

Fadam said the current structure of Kurdish forces is divided along party lines. He noted that two separate Peshmerga forces exist in the Kurdistan Region, each reporting to one of the two dominant parties. He said in some cases, Peshmerga units have used tanks against civilians.

“Any weapon, whether tribal or Peshmerga, that is outside state control, this decision must be enforced,” Fadam told the channel.

“The government must not negotiate. This decision must apply to everyone. It cannot be allowed that someone fights against America or Israel on their own while others outside the law are not held accountable. Weapons outside the state’s authority must not be permitted. This is not acceptable.”

Fadam also pointed to what he described as violations and major deviations within Kurdish security forces, including the use of tanks against a single person.

He noted that these forces are still called Peshmerga, even though the constitution grants the Kurdistan Region the right to form Regional Guards, not party-controlled armed forces.

He referred to Law No. 91, issued during the time of former U.S. administrator Paul Bremer, which required all armed groups operating before 2003 to be merged under the state.

Fadam said that process included groups such as the Badr Organization, which were integrated into state forces. He said the Peshmerga were also integrated and given military ranks based on that decision.

He added that even Iraqi opposition parties during the era of the former regime supported this process, but that after being integrated, the Peshmerga later returned to being affiliated with their respective parties.

Responding to statements made by Massoud Barzani regarding Peshmerga weapons, Fadam said the Kurdistan Democratic Party was among those that agreed to integration.

“If their weapons are not steel, fine, let’s say they are not steel,” he said. “Then why did you agree in 2003 and 2005 to integrate the Peshmerga into the security forces? Based on that agreement, they have been receiving rights and salaries for 23 years.”

Fadam said currently in the Kurdistan Region there are two Peshmerga forces, not one, and each is linked to a political party. He said these forces are still managed through the parties, not through the state.

He called on Kurdish parties to act as two respected political parties focused on political work, and said Regional Guards should be formed in accordance with the constitution, not under party authority.

He said those guards must operate under the command of both the Kurdistan Regional Government and the federal government, specifically for Peshmerga units linked to the Iraqi Ministry of Defense and funded by the federal budget, not from the region’s 12 percent share.

“The federal government must address the issue of separating the Peshmerga in Kurdistan from these two Kurdish parties and link them directly to the General Commander of the Armed Forces,” Fadam said.

“Regional Guards should be formed to protect the Kurdish people, who are part of the Iraqi people, and their protection is the responsibility of Iraq.”

The Peshmerga forces in Iraqi Kurdistan are not unified. They function as separate paramilitary forces taking orders directly from the two ruling parties: the Kurdistan Democratic Party, led by Massoud Barzani, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, led by the Talabani family.

Copyright © 2026 iKurd.net. All rights reserved.

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ISTANBUL,— Turkish prosecutors launched a formal investigation Saturday into Rahmi Koc, the 95-year-old billionaire and honorary head of Koc Holding, the country’s largest conglomerate, after a joke he made about a Kurdish woman triggered widespread condemnation as sexist and racist, AFP reported.

Koc made the remarks Friday evening at a hospital opening ceremony in the western resort city of Izmir.

The incident drew little attention initially, but video footage spread rapidly online and provoked strong public reaction.

The joke centered on a misunderstanding between a Kurdish woman and a doctor.

The pro-Kurdish opposition DEM party said it filed a criminal complaint against Koc on charges of “public incitement to hatred and hostility,” “insult” and “hate and discrimination.”

Justice Minister Akin Gurlek announced the investigation on X, saying prosecutors were examining “expressions deemed to target women and citizens of a specific ethnic identity.” He did not name Koc directly in his post.

“Uttering such words under the guise of a joke does not mitigate the discourtesy displayed toward women and a specific segment of our society,” Gurlek wrote.

Koc Holding published a brief apology from Koc on X. He said his remarks “were not intended to target any particular group” and added, “I would like to sincerely express my regret.”

Koc stepped down as chairman of Koc Holding in 2003, transferring leadership to his eldest son, Mustafa Koc, who died of a sudden heart attack in 2016 at the age of 55.

Koc Holding was established in the 1920s as a family business. Its core sectors include energy, automotive, consumer goods and finance. The group is also active in technology, food, retail, tourism, agriculture and shipbuilding.

According to the company’s website, Koc Holding represents roughly seven percent of Turkey’s gross domestic product and about eight percent of the country’s total exports, reflecting the central role family-run conglomerates play in the Turkish economy.

Forbes magazine estimated this year that Rahmi Koc holds a personal fortune of $2.4 billion.

(With files from AFP)

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Kurdistan bans use of Sheikh, Mullah, Sayyid in business signs and names

ERBIL,— Iraqi Kurdistan Region authorities have prohibited businesses from using religious titles and national symbols in their names, the Ministry of Trade and Industry announced.

The General Directorate of Companies Registration at the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Kurdistan Region has imposed a complete ban on the use of religious titles such as Sheikh, Mullah, and Sayyid, as well as personal names and national symbols, on commercial signs and business establishments.

Authorities said violations will result in financial penalties.

Blnd Mam, Director General of Companies Registration, told media outlets on Thursday, June 4, 2026, that the measure is enforced under Regulation No. 15 of 2022.

The regulation prohibits the registration of religious names and national symbols for use in company names, business locations, and commercial signage.

He stated that the decision applies to all commercial establishments across the region and specifically bans the display of religious titles and national symbols on shop and market signs.

Businesses using such names without official approval and registration will face immediate fines ranging from 100,000 dinars to 1 million dinars.

He added that business names must correspond clearly to the type of activity and the commercial location.

The ban does not apply to businesses that had already registered such names and obtained official licenses before the regulation was issued.

Those establishments will not face legal action because their registrations predate the new rule.

The director also said that no further permissions will be granted for the use of religious names or national symbols in commercial contexts, stating that the policy is intended to preserve the dignity of such names.

(With files from Rudaw | NRT)

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BERLIN,—The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) in a statement on Thursday has criticized the promotion of U.S. diplomat Tom Barrack to serve as Special Envoy for Syria and Iraq under President Donald Trump, saying the move worsens conditions for minorities in Syria.

Barrack previously served as the U.S. Special Envoy for Syria and as U.S. ambassador to Turkey.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio had first announced the end of his tenure in the Syria envoy role before President Donald Trump later named him to a new position.

Dr. Kamal Sido, Middle East consultant at STP, said minority groups blame Barrack for what they describe as a severe deterioration in their situation.

He said Barrack is seen as supporting Syria’s new Islamist leadership while downplaying alleged abuses against minorities and democratic groups.

Sido also criticized Barrack’s remarks suggesting that democracy is not suitable for the region, calling them concerning and dismissive of people across the Middle East.

He said such statements reflect how Western policy treats Syria and show that democratic aspirations are not being taken seriously.

He said the situation is causing growing distrust in democracy and human rights inside Syria, while the country’s new leadership is becoming more politically accepted despite continued abuses against minorities.

In the Druze province of al-Suwaida, displaced residents remain unable to return home. During violence against the Druze community in southern Syria in July 2025, thousands of homes were burned.

The Syrian regime now reports 7,144 homes destroyed.

Many people were killed in the attacks, and Druze areas outside government control remain isolated. Attacks against Druze civilians on roads leading to Damascus also continue.

In Alawite areas along the Syrian Mediterranean coast, killings and sexual violence against civilians continue, according to the STP.

In Wadi an-Nasara in western Syria, about 150,000 mostly Christian residents are facing growing pressure. Armed Islamist groups are said to move through villages at night, spreading fear among the population.

In Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava), Kurdish and Aramaic languages are being systematically removed from public signage and government buildings, despite their official status in the autonomous region.

Many Kurds also fear that agreements with Damascus will not be upheld.

STP also said thousands of Kurds, including former female fighters with the Syrian Democratic Forces who fought the Islamic State group, remain imprisoned in Damascus.

The group urged Germany and the European Union not to step back from engagement in Syria and the Middle East, saying instability and authoritarian rule increase the risk of conflict and refugee flows toward Europe.

(With files from The Society for Threatened Peoples | gfbv.de)

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