Iranian Attacks on Kurdistan — Iran and its proxies have launched over 850 missile and drone attacks on the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) during the US-Iran war, targeting a key US partner with the aim of weakening US influence and forcing the withdrawal of American forces.

Strategic Objective — Unlike attacks on Israel or Gulf states, the strikes on the KRI are designed to pressure the region into abandoning its alliance with the US, exploit its lack of air defenses, and expand Iranian influence through Iraqi militias.

Need for Stronger US Support — The US must provide air defense systems and help resolve long-standing disputes between Erbil and Baghdad (oil, budget, power-sharing) to protect the KRI as a stable, pro-Western governance model and reliable partner in the region.

During the recently partially concluded US-Iran war, Iran and its proxies in Iraq have conducted over 850 missile and drone attacks in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Iran launched thousands of projectiles at Israel and the Gulf states, which received wider international attention. However, the attacks in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) by Iranians and their proxies have received less attention. Compared to Iranian reprisals against other U.S. partners, these attacks against Iraqi Kurdistan have been qualitatively distinct.

In Kurdistan, Iranian projectiles have largely gone unchallenged due to the absence of comparable air defence capabilities, unlike in other parts of the region where the vast majority have been intercepted. These attacks are not intended to undermine the American war effort by inducing global economic damage, as we witness in the case of Iranian attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure. And........

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