Monday, 21 September 2026

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani announced Monday that the Peshmerga had been fully unified under a single Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs structure. The change brings Unit 80, affiliated with the KDP, and Unit 70, connected to the PUK, under the ministry. The agreement was supported by a memorandum with the US Department of Defense and backing from the international coalition. Barzani said the next phase would focus on weapons, air defences and training. He also called for stronger coordination with the Iraqi army and asked Baghdad to ensure that Peshmerga personnel receive full salaries on the same basis as other Iraqi forces. The ceremony marks the Region’s formal claim of unification, while equipping the force and securing equal salary treatment remain its next stated tasks.

Syrian Energy Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said Syria had signed an agreement with a consortium to replace the aging Kirkuk-Baniyas oil pipeline in cooperation with Iraq. Earlier Iraqi and Syrian officials said the line’s capacity might reach one million barrels per day, while former Iraqi ambassador Nizar al-Khairallah put its expected cost at $8 billion. The 800-kilometre route would give Iraq Mediterranean access and provide Syria with transit fees and priority access to oil purchases. Iraq’s Oil Ministry meanwhile said September crude exports were averaging 2.6 million barrels per day, not 4 million. It said the higher figure was an exceptional single-day peak caused by simultaneous southern, northern and offshore loadings. The Syria project joins efforts to move southern crude north through Turkey and a proposed route through Jordan toward Europe. The Damascus statement advances the Syria route from revival talks to a reported consortium agreement, but it gives no construction schedule.

Oil Minister Basim Mohammed Khudair told parliament that Iraq needed at least 5 million litres of imported petrol a day to cover the gap between production and consumption. Petrol stocks have fallen from around 350 million litres to 107 million litres. August production averaged 28.857 million litres per day against consumption of 34.54 million, while imports supplied 3.907 million, leaving roughly 1.8 million litres per day to be drawn from reserves. At that rate, the remaining stock would last about two months. The government stopped imports in November 2025 after declaring self-sufficiency, but by June the ministry was acknowledging a daily shortfall of 4 million to 5 million litres. Work resumed in August on a refining unit expected to add about 5 million litres per day once operating, roughly matching the current import requirement. The shortage has already produced queues in several governorates and forced many Basra filling stations to close on Saturday, leaving the earlier self-sufficiency claim at odds with the ministry’s current figures.

PMF military-media director Muhannad al-Aqabi said faction weapons would not be surrendered but would be reorganized under federal supervision. He also rejected any attack on Erbil or another Iraqi province. Riyadh al-Tamimi (Sadiqoun — MP) told Al-Ahad TV (AAH — official) that his bloc supported containing and regulating weapons, without addressing surrender. National State Forces Alliance head Ammar al-Hakim separately told US chargé d’affaires Steven Fagin that weapons outside state control must be addressed through Iraqi mechanisms and timelines. Alsumaria reported that Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi would ask President Donald Trump for more time and request that Washington withhold financial or economic sanctions, but al-Zaidi has not stated that position and the government committee has no fixed deadline. Ahmad Adnan (AAH — Sadiqoun member) said his bloc had enough MPs to question PMF chairman Faleh al-Fayyad after his absence from parliament and alleged that Fayyad had sent intermediaries seeking to prevent it. Militia channels also split over the 20 September explosions near Erbil airport and a US base: some described explosions or drone activity, while others relayed the Kurdistan Region counterterrorism account that two blasts came from military training and security activity. The stated weapons position is now regulation without surrender, while the government continues an open-ended process rather than a handover tied to 30 September.

PMF military-media director Muhannad al-Aqabi said faction weapons would not be surrendered but reorganized under federal supervision to prevent disorder or abuse. He also rejected any attack on Erbil or another Iraqi province. Riyadh al-Tamimi (Sadiqoun — MP) told Al-Ahad TV (AAH — official) that his bloc supported containing and regulating weapons, without addressing surrender. Iram News separately cited an Iraqi political source saying most heavy weapons, missiles and drones remained with factions, with a substantial portion possibly moving to PMF warehouses and returning to combat if the United States attacked Iran. Al-Aqabi has thus made the PMF distinction explicit: regulation without surrender, while the government committee still has no fixed deadline.

On 20 September, Al-Ittijah TV (KH — official), Al-Nujaba TV (Nujaba — official), Al-Ahad and iNEWS (KSS — affiliated) described explosions or drone action near Erbil airport and a U.S. base. Al-Kornet al-Kata'ibi (KSS — affiliated), Al-Ghadeer TV (Badr Organization — official) and Unit 10,000 (KH — affiliated) instead relayed the Kurdistan Region counterterrorism account that two blasts came from military training and security activity. Kurdistan24 cited a security source saying the explosion came from detonating explosive remnants and was not an attack. On 21 September, Watan TV (Badr Organization — affiliated) captioned footage as an attack on U.S. bases, but the video showed smoke without establishing the site, cause or recording time.

Ahmad Adnan (AAH — Sadiqoun member) said his bloc had enough MPs to question PMF chairman Faleh al-Fayyad after his absence from parliament. He alleged that Fayyad sent delegations and intermediaries to Sadiqoun seeking to avoid the questioning. Victory Coalition spokesman Salam al-Zubaidi separately said that Fayyad’s absence was political and alleged that political forces retained him for electoral votes and to exploit the PMF. Adnan also called for scrutiny of reports alleging transfers of Fayyad’s money from Qatar to Turkey.

Al-Ahad TV announced that Sadiqoun would proceed with questioning the oil minister over the fuel crisis. A previous request had more than 60 lawmakers’ signatures before proceedings were put on hold, and parliament has not scheduled the questioning. The oil minister told lawmakers Iraq needed at least 5 million litres of imported petrol a day, while stocks had fallen from around 350 million litres to about 107 million. Parliamentary Security and Defence Committee head Mahdi Taqi al-Amirli alleged through iNEWS and Al-Ghadeer that SOMO manufactured the shortage and blocked solutions except through Saudi and Emirati companies. Al-Ghadeer also carried his allegation that the arrangement sought to inflame discord and push demonstrations into the streets.

From late 20 September into 21 September, Sabereen News (KH — affiliated), Unit 10,000, Al-Ahad and Al-Ghadeer reported that PMF forces stopped an ISIS infiltration at Lake Tharthar, east of Anbar. Sabereen and Unit 10,000 said the infiltrators intended to attack a PMF position and fled after losses, while forces seized a boat, weapons and food. Al-Nujaba later attached an image of armed men in a motorboat beneath a “7th River Brigade” banner, but the image did not establish its date, location or operational role.

Faction outlets relayed Iranian warnings, readiness claims and victory language. Al-Ittijah carried an Iranian warning of a decisive response encompassing U.S. interests in the region, while Al-Ghadeer carried Iran’s claim of control over the Strait of Hormuz. Political analyst Mehdi Azizil told Al-Ahad that Iran’s target bank included regional oil companies, while Al-Janoub TV (Harakat al-Jihad wal-Bina — official) and Shabab al-Islam (Ashab al-Kahf — owned/non-official) carried readiness or victory wording. Separately, iNEWS relayed Qatari mediation to resume Tehran-Washington talks, and Al-Nujaba carried Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s stated openness to talks. Since 14 September, 12 of 33 watched channels across five networks have surged on Tehran. These posts made no Iraqi operational commitment or independent faction endorsement of talks.