by Sirwan Kajjo
Strengthening Iraqi Kurdistan’s Defenses Would Help Alleviate Pressure on U.S. Personnel in the Region
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Kurdish soldiers in Erbil, Iraq. Shutterstock |
Iraqi Kurdistan is increasingly entangled in the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict. Iran and its Iraqi proxies target three elements in Iraqi Kurdistan: U.S. bases, peshmerga, and Iranian Kurdish opposition groups headquarters.
Since the onset of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran on February 28, 2026, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Iraqi proxies have launched more than 300 ballistic missile and drone attacks against U.S. military and diplomatic facilities in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, as well peshmerga bases, and camps belonging to Iranian Kurdish groups. These attacks so far have killed at least four civilians and wounded almost three dozen. As the strikes against Iranian regime targets continue, so do Iran’s retaliatory attacks across the Middle East, including in Iraqi Kurdistan.
As the strikes against Iranian regime targets continue, so do Iran’s retaliatory attacks across the Middle East, including in Iraqi Kurdistan.
While U.S. air defenses at Erbil airport, Harir airbase, and the U.S. consulate have intercepted most of these missiles and drones, others have successfully struck peshmerga positions and Iranian Kurdish forces. That is because the United States maintains C-RAM, Patriot, and THAAD defense systems to protect its facilities, while the Kurdistan Region lacks such defensive capabilities. That must change.
The United States must take concrete steps to ensure that Iraqi Kurds acquire air defense systems that would allow them to protect civilian lives and critical infrastructure, while also preserving a reliable security partnership with Washington as it faces an aggressive Iranian regime.
Coupled with Iraqi Kurdistan’s geographic proximity to Iran and its proxies, the lack of air defense capabilities by peshmerga forces makes the Kurdistan Region more vulnerable than any other U.S. regional ally. Iran and its proxies have exploited this gap repeatedly, long before the outbreak of the current hostilities.
According to the Iraqi constitution, the peshmerga are part of the country’s defense structure. Yet the central government in Baghdad has not established air defenses anywhere in the Kurdistan Region. Procuring air defense system is a sovereignty issue that falls under Baghdad’s authority. This means that even if the Kurdistan Regional Government had the financial capacity, it cannot independently acquire them.
However, when the Khor Mor gas field came under attack in November 2025, Iraqi Kurdish leadership asked for U.S. and other international actors to provide the Kurdistan Region with defensive equipment to deter future attacks by Iranian proxies.
The United States has the leverage to pressure the Iraqi government to deploy defense systems to Kurdistan. If Baghdad cannot rein in the terrorist groups, some of which fall under its own defense ministry, it should at least allow the Kurdish Region to have some defense capabilities.
The U.S. administration should support the Kurds both politically and financially to acquire their own defense capabilities, even if Baghdad remains hesitant.
With a disoriented and ambiguous Iraqi stance on the current conflict between the United States and Iran, Washington should go further. Kurds may prefer a more direct U.S. approach, given longstanding mistrust of the central government. The threats facing Iraqi Kurdistan will persist, and the U.S. administration should support the Kurds both politically and financially to acquire their own defense capabilities, even if Baghdad remains hesitant. Strengthening Iraqi Kurdistan’s defenses would help alleviate pressure on U.S. personnel in the region by reducing the need to divert resources from offensive operations to force protection.
Iraqi Kurds are navigating a delicate situation as the conflict grows more complex. Without clear and sustained U.S. support, it will be difficult for them to maintain a firm stance against Iran and Iranian-backed militias.
This is not only a matter of helping the Kurds defend their autonomous region; it is also a question of broader regional stability. Strengthening Kurdistan Region’s defensive capabilities would limit the operational space of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Iraqi proxies.
Sirwan Kajjo is a journalist and researcher specializing in Kurdish politics,
Islamic militancy, and Syrian affairs. He has contributed two book
chapters on Syria and the Kurds, published by Indiana University Press
and Cambridge University Press. His writings on Syrian and Kurdish
issues have appeared in the Middle East Forum, the Washington Institute
for Near East Policy, and other prominent think tanks and publications.
Kajjo is also the author of Nothing But Soot, a novel set in Syria. He
holds a BA in government and international politics from George Mason
University.
Source: https://www.meforum.org/mef-observer/iraqi-kurdistan-needs-air-defenses
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