New from me for @thenewarab.bsky.social: Attacks by Iraqi resistance militias and retaliatory US-Saudi airstrikes highlighted the difficult path ahead of Iraqi PM Ali al-Zaidi. He should look to his own house for a durable solution. W/ comment from Dr. Inna Rudolf. www.newarab.com/analysis/ali...

Ali al-Zaidi’s race to save Iraq from the US-Iran war

Analysis: As US-Saudi airstrikes threaten to drag Iraq deeper into the Iran war, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s room for manoeuvre is rapidly narrowing

newarab.com

Even as active conflict has paused in the Gulf over the last few days, Iran continues to attack Iraq's Kurdistan Region, firing missiles and drones at Iranian Kurdish fighters based there. See my latest in @foreignpolicy.com about why these attacks continue: foreignpolicy.com/2026/07/14/u...

Will a U.S.-Iran Deal Include Kurds?

Attacks against Kurdish regions in Iran and Iraq never stopped.

foreignpolicy.com

My latest for @amwajmedia.bsky.social: Duhok has always been the KDP's secret weapon in terms of electoral advantage, with total party dominance and lots of votes. By consolidating Sulaimani, the PUK-NG bloc evens things up, effectively neutralizing the KDP's Duhok advantage. 1/2

My latest for @amwajmedia.bsky.social: The PUK and New Generation say they are offering a new politics. In fact, their recent pact adheres to some of the most durable political rules in the Kurdistan Region — balancing the ruling parties and co-opting the opposition. amwaj.media/en/article/a...

Reading this, I learned that Rosebank will only produce about 32,000bpd over its lifespan (300m/25yrs). Such low volume for the kind of value that supporters claim it would bring to the UK. Comparable to mid-level Kurdish fields like Sarsang and Atrush. www.theguardian.com/business/202...

New North Sea oil drilling faces delay after gear accidentally dropped in sea

Exclusive: Blunder at Rosebank, UK’s biggest undeveloped oilfield, comes as government considers granting licence

theguardian.com

New from me in @foreignpolicy.com: Even when fighting between the US and Iran calmed during the MOU, attacks continued in Iraq's Kurdistan Region against Iranian Kurdish groups. It seemed that attacks could continue there without a response from Washington. foreignpolicy.com/2026/07/14/u...

Will a U.S.-Iran Deal Include Kurds?

Attacks against Kurdish regions in Iran and Iraq never stopped.

foreignpolicy.com

In @theamargi.bsky.social: With Lindsey Graham's passing, Kurds lost a voice in Washington, but they rarely saw him beyond that narrow context. He leaves a more complex legacy, one that was not always positive. It's something worth examining with the future in mind www.theamargi.com/posts/lindse...

Lindsey Graham, the Kurds, and the limits of friendship

News broke on Sunday morning that US Senator Lindsey Graham had suddenly died. By virtue of geography, many in Kurdistan were aware of his passing while the United States slept. Kurdish politicians be...

theamargi.com

Check out this new conversation about the government formation impasse in the Kurdistan Region with Sardar Aziz, Kamal Chomani, and myself for @theamargi.bsky.social. What are the roots of the crisis and what does the future look like? youtu.be/uWwdIp6vg2g?...

Is Iraqi Kurdistan on the verge of collapse? Power, paralysis and the future of the KRG

YouTube video by The Amargi

youtu.be

All lobbying should be publicly declared in transparency laws shake-up, watchdog says www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

All lobbying should be publicly declared in transparency laws shake-up, watchdog says

Ethics and integrity commission chief says overhaul is crucial to help restore trust in standards

theguardian.com

With disarmament dominating the conversation in Iraq, Mohanad Adnan & I examine for @thenewarab.bsky.social why Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq has moved quickly to support the idea. Its future could be bright if it can convince Western governments that its change is genuine. www.newarab.com/analysis/gun...

From guns to power: The reinvention of Iraq’s Asaib Ahl al-Haq

Analysis: One of Iraq’s most powerful armed groups is quietly recasting itself as an indispensable political broker

newarab.com

The KRG's General Directorate of Mine Affairs has warned that it will likely miss a 2028 deadline for landmine and UXO clearance due to a lack of funding. Last summer, I wrote about this problem for @inkstickmedia.com after the US drastically cut aid. inkstickmedia.com/us-aid-cuts-...

US Aid Cuts Put the Future of Iraq's Demining Efforts at Risk

The United States once supported groups clearing the life-threatening mines dotting Iraq. The Trump administration has changed all that.

inkstickmedia.com

Laura Davison, NUJ general secretary, said: "Civilians, including journalists, are entitled to protection under the Geneva Convention, and these attacks clearly violate international law." The NUJ joins @ifjglobal.bsky.social in calling for urgent investigations. www.nuj.org.uk/resource/nuj...

NUJ condemns continued targeting of Lebanese and Palestinian journalists by Israeli forces

The NUJ has joined the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) and the Union of Journalists of Lebanon (UJL) in condemning continued targeted attacks...

nuj.org.uk

The KDP and the PUK always say they are "ready" and "willing" to make deals and work together. Yet, they never seem to actually do it. In a new piece for @theamargi.bsky.social, I look at the "rhetoric of readiness" and explain how it is actually a red flag. www.theamargi.com/posts/how-kd...

PERSONAL NEWS: I've joined the @newyorker.com full-time as a global-affairs columnist, where I'll be writing a weekly essay on the world. It's a dream gig and I'm still pinching myself that I get to say all these incredible, talented journalists I've long admired are my colleagues!

Michael Luo@michaelluo.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Some news from @newyorker.com. Welcome @jesusrodriguez.work @ishaantharoor.bsky.social!

It is now time to write Peshmerga reform's obituary. In the end, it failed because the technocratic aims of the process were fundamentally incompatible with the political realities of the Kurdistan Region. New for @inkstickmedia.com: inkstickmedia.com/in-iraqi-kur...

In Iraqi Kurdistan, Peshmerga Reform Dies on the Vine

In Iraqi Kurdistan, a years-long reform process aimed at reshaping the Peshmerga has been dying a slow death.

inkstickmedia.com

"In Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, long-held hopes for reforming Peshmerga forces have been dying a slow death for years, denied and disputed with flagging sincerity by those responsible for carrying out the process." By @wrodgers2.bsky.social inkstickmedia.com/in-iraqi-kur...

In Iraqi Kurdistan, Peshmerga Reform Dies on the Vine

In Iraqi Kurdistan, a years-long reform process aimed at reshaping the Peshmerga has been dying a slow death.

inkstickmedia.com

A new report from the United Nations weather agency gives a three-out-of-four chance that the next five years will average more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures.

Think it's hot now? The next five years will smash records, UN says

A new report from the United Nations weather agency gives a three-out-of-four chance that the next five years will average more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures.

bit.ly

The Pentagon said Tuesday the cost of the war with Iran had climbed to nearly $29 billion, as President Donald Trump faced mounting scrutiny over the conflict and its impact on US military readiness. u.afp.com/SRxu

Part III of my investigation into Kurdish lobbying for @theamargi.bsky.social focuses on the PUK and its decision to hire its own firm, Ballard Partners. A source said the decision was because the official KRG office in Washington had become biased towards the KDP. www.theamargi.com/posts/iraqi-...

Iraqi Kurdish rivalries spill into Washington’s lobbying swamp

TENSIONS BETWEEN KDP AND PUK SURFACE IN THE SWAMP In recent years, the strategic agreement between the KDP and the PUK has broken down and the ripple effect of their increasingly dysfunctional relatio...

theamargi.com

Beyond Erbil's K Street firms sits a murkier circle: a $1.27m contract for a former journalist, lawyers from Trump's 2020 team, a prime minister's brother under federal investigation. ✍️ Winthrop Rodgers www.theamargi.com/posts/fixers...

Fixers, friends and firms: inside the KRG’s Washington lobbying network

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS MATTER The early intention of keeping the KRG USA office non-partisan was reinforced by the appointment of Bayan Sami Abdulrahman, a member of the KDP, to replace Qubad…

theamargi.com

Part II of my investigation of Kurdish lobbying in Washington for @theamargi.bsky.social gets into the nitty-gritty of how lobbying works. It also looks at two firms with close political ties to the KDP leadership, though not much is known about their activities. www.theamargi.com/posts/fixers...

Fixers, friends and firms: inside the KRG’s Washington lobbying network

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS MATTER The early intention of keeping the KRG USA office non-partisan was reinforced by the appointment of Bayan Sami Abdulrahman, a member of the KDP, to replace Qubad Talabani...

theamargi.com

For years, Iraqi Kurdish leaders have spent millions trying to keep Washington engaged. But as KDP-PUK divisions deepen, Kurdish lobbying in the US is becoming more fragmented, more partisan, and less effective. ✍️ Winthrop Rodgers www.theamargi.com/posts/how-ir...

How Iraqi Kurds learned to play Washington’s lobbying game

The United States is an indispensable partner for Iraq’s Kurdistan Region. But it is not a one-way street. Erbil must also be able to convince Washington of its value, that the Kurdistan Region can…

theamargi.com

Part I of my deep look into Kurdish lobbying in Washington for @theamargi.bsky.social Given the Kurdistan Region’s geopolitical position and vulnerabilities lobbying is a critical way of influencing US powerbrokers. How does it work? Where does it succeed and fail? www.theamargi.com/posts/how-ir...

How Iraqi Kurds learned to play Washington’s lobbying game

The United States is an indispensable partner for Iraq’s Kurdistan Region. But it is not a one-way street. Erbil must also be able to convince Washington of its value, that the Kurdistan Region can pl...

theamargi.com

🇬🇧 David Attenborough, a leading voice on climate change and biodiversity loss whose landmark documentaries transformed popular understanding of the natural world for a global audience, marks his 100th birthday on Friday. ➡️ u.afp.com/SaHV

NEW from me for @chmenap.bsky.social: Relations between KDP and PUK are effectively non-functional and no one is coming to sort them out this time. Old assumptions about how the Kurdistan Region operates are dissolving, but new frameworks are not yet in place. www.chathamhouse.org/2026/04/poli...

Political deadlock has left Iraq’s Kurdistan Region dangerously exposed amid Iran war

The stalemate over government formation is affecting the semi-autonomous region’s ability to deal with the fallout of the Iran war – and eroding its autonomy.

chathamhouse.org

New for @amwajmedia.bsky.social: As the Kurdistan Region struggles to defend itself from drone attacks by Iran and Iraqi militias, counter-drone tech inspired by Ukraine could better meet Kurdistan’s context and provide an alternative to high-cost US systems. amwaj.media/en/article/a...

Amid US inaction over Iranian fire, will Iraqi Kurds look to Ukraine for defenses?

In the skies above much of Iraqi Kurdistan, drones fired by Iran and Iraqi Shiite armed groups have been flying with effective impunity over the past month. Only the capital of the semi-autonomous reg...

amwaj.media

There it is: A full year of days spent playing golf in just over five years as president. www.pbump.net/outofoffice

A security guard breaks down while witnessing a family separation. New York, 20 August 2025. Carol Guzy, ZUMA Press, iWitness, for Miami Herald/World Press Photo 2026 www.theguardian.com/world/galler...

NEW from me for @thenewarab.bsky.social: Attacks by Iran and Iraqi militias posed a tricky problem for the Kurdistan Region, but caution and calculated restraint by Erbil prevailed over anger and retaliation. But this latest round exacerbated pre-existing dynamics. www.newarab.com/analysis/cou...

Without saying which group, Trump doubles down on comments he made to Fox News yesterday and adds “I'm very upset with a certain group of people, and they're going to pay a big price for that." KRG and Iranian Kurdish groups have rejected this allegation, but Trump puts them in an awful position.

The Bulwark@thebulwark.com · 4mo ago

Trump: "We sent guns, a lot of guns. They were supposed to go to the people so they could fight back against these thugs. You know what happened? The people that they sent them to kept them…I'm very upset with a certain group of people, and they're going to pay a big price for that."