Peregraf — Senior Kurdish officials moved on Wednesday to distance the Kurdistan Region from a widening regional conflict, even as drone strikes and diplomatic pressure underscored its growing exposure to the crisis.
Qubad Talabani, the deputy prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, said the region would remain neutral despite escalating violence spilling across its borders. “The Kurdistan Region is not a part of this war, and it will not be a part of it in the future,” he said after an overnight drone attack prompted authorities to establish a joint operations room in Sulaymaniyah.
The decision followed a meeting between Kurdish officials and the province’s security committee, aimed at tightening coordination among security forces and civilian authorities. Officials said the goal was to safeguard residents as tensions intensify across Iraq and neighboring countries.
Talabani acknowledged that neutrality had not insulated the region from danger. “Our region is in an extraordinary situation, and the sparks of this war have reached us,” he said, urging residents to avoid large gatherings until conditions stabilize. Authorities also moved to address electricity shortages by easing operational obstacles facing private generators, seeking to ensure a steady power supply amid the uncertainty.
The security measures came as Kurdish leaders engaged in a flurry of diplomatic contacts that highlight the region’s delicate position between rival powers.
Bafel Talabani, president of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, held a phone call on Wednesday with Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, to discuss the conflict and broader regional developments, according to a statement from the party.
During the conversation, Talabani emphasized the need for dialogue and peaceful solutions, framing his party’s approach as focused on diplomacy rather than confrontation. Araghchi, in turn, expressed appreciation for the Kurdish leadership’s role in maintaining stability and pledged continued coordination, the statement said.
The call came a day after Kurdish officials confirmed that Talabani had also spoken with Donald Trump, the U.S. president, about the war involving Iran. According to the party, Trump outlined his objectives in the conflict and praised the Kurdish leadership’s influence in Iraq.
The outreach reflects increasing international attention on Kurdish-controlled areas, particularly along the Iran-Iraq border, where armed Iranian Kurdish opposition groups have long maintained a presence. American interest in those areas has raised concerns in Baghdad and Tehran alike, given the risk that the territory could become a staging ground for cross-border operations.
Those concerns were evident in a separate high-level call on Wednesday between Qasim al-Araji, Iraq’s national security adviser, and Ali Bagheri, a senior Iranian security official.
According to the Iraqi government, the two men discussed tightening control along the Kurdistan Region’s borders to prevent armed groups from launching attacks into Iran. Iraqi officials said they had reinforced positions in coordination with Kurdish authorities, including deploying additional Peshmerga forces in areas near Erbil.
“The Iraqi government is fully committed to preventing any hostile activity originating from our territory,” the national security adviser’s office said in a statement, emphasizing Baghdad’s adherence to security agreements with Tehran.
The developments underscore the Kurdistan Region’s precarious position as a buffer zone between competing powers. While Kurdish leaders insist on neutrality, the combination of military activity, foreign interest and internal vulnerabilities has drawn the region deeper into the orbit of a conflict it says it seeks to avoid.
For now, officials are betting that a mix of tightened security, diplomatic engagement and public caution can keep the crisis from escalating further inside the region. But with both Washington and Tehran watching closely, and armed groups active along the border, the margin for staying outside the conflict appears increasingly narrow.