Turkey's Fidan threats against Iraqi Kurdistan are clear: Arêz

Turkeys Fidan threats against Iraqs Kurdistan are clear, says Arêz Abdullah — PUK Leadership Council member Arez Abdullah, Iraqi Kurdistan region, February 2, 2026. Photo: Arez’s FB/via iKurd.net

Arêz Abdullah urges unity among Iraqi Kurdish leaders

SULAIMANI, Iraqi Kurdistan region,— Kurdish writer and PUK Leadership Council member Arêz Abdullah warned on Thursday that recent statements by Turkey’s foreign minister represent a serious threat to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, saying the regional balance of power increasingly resembles “the law of the jungle.”

In a post on social media responding to remarks by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Abdullah said the international political system had shifted toward raw power politics, leaving weaker actors — particularly the Kurds — exposed.

“It is as clear as daylight that the international political system has fallen under the dominance of the law of the jungle,” he wrote.

“Under this law, we will be the first to be devoured, because among the surrounding predators, the Kurds are the weakest.”

He pointed to the situation in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava), as evidence of how this dynamic operates. Turkey has conducted repeated military operations there targeting the Kurdish administration in Syrian Kurdistan.

“Look at what was done to Rojava under this law,” Abdullah said.

He also argued that regional history suggested goodwill would not protect vulnerable communities. “History shows that some powers view the peoples of the Middle East as prey and believe that this situation will not change through kindness or brotherhood, because even in the time of the prophets it did not improve, or so they say,” he wrote.

Abdullah referred to earlier threats by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his allies, adding that Fidan’s comments were particularly alarming.

According to Abdullah, Fidan said on Wednesday: “After Syria, our hand will reach Iraq, and Iraq must bring the Kurdistan Region back under control just like Golani’s Syria; otherwise, Turkey will act.”

(Golani refers to Ahmed al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, leader of Syria’s current de facto Islamist authorities.)

Addressing Kurdistan Democratic Party KDP leader Massoud Barzani and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan leader Bafel Jalal Talabani directly, Abdullah urged them to recognize the gravity of the situation.

“Do you truly not see this danger?” he wrote. “If you do not see it the way I do, that is understandable — but at least you have heard Hakan Fidan.”

Abdullah concluded with an appeal for Kurdish unity, warning that internal divisions could leave the region more vulnerable.

“Please, let catastrophe not divide us; instead, through unity, let us protect our people from disaster,” he said.

Turkey has long opposed the political and military influence of Kurdish groups along its southern border, arguing they are linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Ankara designates as a “terrorist” organization, a claim Kurdish authorities reject.