Iran has extended the Middle East conflict to the autonomous Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq over the past several days.
The current crisis began when Iran attacked ships in the Persian Gulf on July 6-7. The US retaliated with eight straight days of bombing.
Iran has done this before. It has sought to expand the war to Iraq. The most recent targets have included Iranian opposition groups PAK and Komala.
Iranian attacks have targeted countries all over the region. Two Americans in Jordan were killed in a missile attack on Friday.
Iran is also attacking the Kurdistan Region. It has done this before, when it sought to expand the war to Iraq. The most recent targets have included Kurdish Iranian opposition groups Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) and Komala.
Iran’s attacks on the Kurdistan Region took place as Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi wrapped up his visit to the US.
“Household gas prices across the Kurdistan Region have doubled, following the suspension of production at the Khor Mor gas field in Sulaimani province due to security threats linked to ongoing US-Iran tensions and recent drone attacks targeting the Region,” Rudaw Media Network, a Kurdistan Region-based news channel, reported over the weekend. ‘The price of LPG at fuel stations has reached 800 dinars (around $0.61) per liter,’ Jangi Majid, head of the Erbil fuel station owners association, told Rudaw’s Soran Hussein on Saturday.
Iran attack on Kurdistan increased in Erbil, Sulimaniyeh
This is one of the many effects of the Iranian attacks. The challenge comes as the Kurdistan Region has seen some recent success in securing deals in the US.
“Kurdish business leaders on Friday announced new partnerships with major American companies during the US-Iraq high-level business summit in Washington, highlighting growing private-sector ties as Baghdad and Washington shift their relationship toward long-term economic cooperation during the high-level visit by the Iraqi government delegation,” Rudaw Media Network reported.
Iran’s attacks in the Kurdistan Region have escalated in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah. Nine Komala members were killed in the attacks.
'Grave and unacceptable violation,' energy company shutdown
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Bafel Talabani condemned the attacks and said they were a “grave and unacceptable violation,” Rudaw Media Network reported.
“Last night, our nation faced a grave and unacceptable violation of our security and sovereignty,” the report said. “A ballistic missile strike, launched from Iran, targeted our homeland and our heroic security forces.”
The PUK is the second-largest Kurdish political party in Iraq. KDP, headquartered in Erbil, is the largest.
“Syria’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned renewed Iranian drone and missile attacks targeting Kurdistan Region and several Arab countries in the region, saying the attacks violated states’ sovereignty and international law, with Kurdish political parties in northeast Syria (Rojava) also voicing their opposition to the strikes,” Rudaw Media Network reported.
Nevertheless, the attacks are continuing, and this harms the Kurdistan Region in numerous ways.
Khor Mor Gas field has gone offline, and US energy company HKN Energy “has shut down all operations in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq due to escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran, a company executive told Rudaw on Saturday, despite the firm’s recent agreement with the Iraqi government to develop a northern oil field,” the report said.