A weekly brief of events occurred in the Kurdistan regions of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.

Iran 

• Iranian authorities executed two more Kurds on drug-related charges and have now executed 55 Kurds during the past six months. Concomitantly, the Iranian regime executed three protesters from Isfahan. Several human rights groups denounced the executions, including Amnesty International, which described the trials of the deceased protestors as “unjust convictions and sentences without any regard for the lack of evidence and serious allegations of torture.” Kurdish mothers of fallen protestors in Sena posted a video expressing solidarity with the families of the executed from Isfahan. The exiled Cooperation Center for Iranian Kurdish Parties (CCIKP) also condemned the executions and said, “The new wave of executions comes at a time when the rights movement and popular protests against the Islamic Republic have created the biggest legitimacy crisis for the Islamic regime in the past year.” On Saturday, several people in Ilam and Sena protested the execution of protesters, but the regime responded by arresting eight activists and more than a dozen civilians. The regime also detained a Kurdish imam in Baneh, an activist in Awadan, and four Kurds from Marivan, Baneh, and Malekshahi. Meanwhile, revolutionary courts in Iranian Kurdistan sentenced a Kurd in Mehabad to three years in prison and a Kurdish imam in Sena to one year in prison on charges related to participation in anti-government protests.

• Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi appointed the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) strategic center, Ali Akbar Ahmadian, as secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council on Monday. Ahmadian replaces Ali Shamkhani, who facilitated reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia and took a hardline towards Iranian opposition groups in Iraq. Ahmadian has been sanctioned by the U.S., the European Union (EU), and the United Nations (UN) for his involvement with Iran’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs.

Iraq

• On May 20, the scouts of the Iraqi army attacked the Makhmour Refugee Camp, which houses Kurdish refugees from Turkey, citing the need to “control” its security. However, the civilian population within the camp responded by protesting the army’s two-day-long efforts to erect fences around the camp, which would restrict their movement. During the clashes between the two sides, there were minor injuries and casualties reported. The Iraqi army has accused the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) of engaging in activities within the camp. The Makhmour Refugee Camp was established in 1998 following the mass exodus of thousands of Kurds from Turkey who had fled persecution by the Turkish government.
• Iraqi Kurdistan’s oil exports remain paused 60 days after the International Chamber of Commerce ruled in Baghdad’s favor and halted them. A Reuters report claimed the pause has now cost the Iraqi government more than $1.5 billion. Additionally, despite Baghdad’s promises to provide Iraqi Kurdistan with its share of the federal budget and money for public employee salaries, budget negotiations remain deadlocked in the Finance Committee of the Iraqi Council of Representatives. It is unclear when the Council of Representatives will convene to pass the nation’s three-year budget, the largest in Iraq’s history.  

• On Monday, lawmakers from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) brawled inside the Kurdistan Region Parliament after Speaker Rewaz Faeq Hussein ended its session. That said, Deputy Speaker Hemin Hewrami restarted the session, and the parliament voted to reactivate the Kurdistan Region’s electoral commission. Lawmakers from both sides disputed the session’s legitimacy, but KDP spokesperson Jafar Aiminki asserted KDP-PUK talks would continue because there is a “very strong” rapport between the two parties. Also on Monday, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) agreed to speed up the process of digitally connecting the region’s banks and centralizing revenue collection. Iraqi Kurdistan is set to hold elections in November, a step repeatedly encouraged by the UN.

Syria 

• Syrian President Bashar Assad attended the Arab League summit in Jeddah, marking his first participation since 2010, following the normalization of relations between his regime and Arab countries. During his speech, Assad emphasized Syria’s commitment to Arabism, stating that its “past, present, and future” are rooted in Arab identity. He viewed the summit as a significant opportunity to address internal affairs with “minimal foreign interference”. Prior to Assad’s address, Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani departed from the summit, while a senior diplomat from Qatar remained in attendance. The summit’s closing statement emphasized the importance of creating favorable conditions for the return of Syrian refugees and safeguarding Syria’s “unity and territorial integrity.” Despite the Arab world’s normalization efforts, the United States continues to oppose the Syrian regime. However, Assad is scheduled to participate in the upcoming climate summit in the United Arab Emirates during the fall. Kurdish politicians express concerns that the rapid normalization with the Syrian regime could pose a threat to the existence of the self-administration entity in northern and eastern Syria.
• A Turkish drone strike killed a civilian in the village of al-Kharufiya in the southern countryside of the city of Manbij on Thursday evening, according to the Media Center of Manbij Military Council. The Turkish drone struck a civilian car, injuring the driver, Abd al-Wahhab Hamidi, who was taken to the hospital where he died of his injuries.Separately, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said that three of its ranks suffered wounds after an ISIS (Da’esh) attack in Deir Ez Zor on Saturday. Last Tuesday, the SDF, with the support of the US-led coalition, conducted raids in Raqqa, arresting “4 Da’esh terrorists,” and “another was killed.”

Turkey 

• Ultra-nationalist presidential candidate Sinan Ogan, who received five percent of the vote in the May 14 election, officially endorsed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday. Ogan previously met with opposition candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and considered endorsing him. However, Ogan’s anti-Kurdish outlook and prioritization of the Syrian refugee issue led him to view Erdogan, who remains allied with the ultra-nationalist Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and won over 49 percent of the vote on May 14, as a more viable option. Separately, the pro-Kurdish Green Left Party (YSP) challenged election results in Turkey’s Kurdish areas and voiced concerns about ballot irregularities. Several videos posted on social media sites appeared to show Kurdish votes for the YSP being counted for ultra-nationalists. “We have learned that the data of more than 1000 ballot box results across the country were entered incorrectly,” said a YSP official. The second round of elections will be held on May 28, and the YSP has reaffirmed its support for Kılıçdaroğlu. However, the government has arrested dozens of members of pro-Kurdish parties before the elections. Nevertheless, Erdogan remains the favorite on May 28, and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) now holds 268 seats in Turkey’s Grand National Assembly, which allows it to retain a majority with its ultranationalist allies.

• Istanbul police arrested four Kurdish youths for playing Kurdish music “loudly” and performing the halay folk dance. The Kurds were then placed on the ground face-down in handcuffs and forced to listen to Ottoman military music. The incident went viral on social media, and several human rights groups condemned the police, arguing that Turkish authorities would not have reacted in the same manner if the youths were listening to Turkish nationalist songs.