Countries condemn Iranian attack on Kurdistan Region prime minister’s office

There was widespread condemnation on August 17 and 18 of an Iranian drone attack on the office of Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani. Early on August 17, two drones targeted the office in the Pirmam district of Erbil province in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq. The US, the UK, the EU, Saudi Arabia, and various countries in the Middle East condemned the attack.

Masrour Barzani wrote that the attack was investigated soon after it occurred on Monday. “Following an investigation by the Kurdistan Counter-Terrorism Unit, my personal office and the home of the head of the Security and Intelligence Agency were targeted by Iranian drone attacks earlier today,” he stated. Barzani added that the attack would not deter him from continuing his duties.

The incident is at least the second time Iran has targeted the office or residence of a leader of the Kurdistan Region. In March, Iran was accused of targeting the residence of Kurdistan Regional President Nechirvan Barzani, Masrour’s cousin. On August 9, Masrour Barzani noted that the Kurdistan Region has been targeted by more than 1,000 attacks by Iran and Iranian-backed militias in Iraq since the US and Israel began airstrikes on Iran in February. They have targeted Kurdish Iranian opposition groups who have bases in northern Iraq, as well as US government and military sites and the UAE consulate.

“The Kurdistan Counter-Terrorism Unit has confirmed that at 00:28 on Monday (17 August 2026), Iran launched two explosives-laden Hadid-110 drones across the border, targeting the prime minister’s private office (at KRG headquarters) and the home of the head of the KRG Security and Intelligence Agency (in Pirmam District, Erbil Governorate),” the Kurdistan Regional Government stated.

The Hadid 110 was first unveiled in February 2025 and delivered to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in December 2025. Iran claims that the drone is jet-powered, in contrast to other, slower drones that use propellers. The model may also combine speed and stealth capabilities that make it harder to intercept. However, there is a lack of details from the Kurdistan Regional Government regarding what was found at the drone impact site on August 17. Other sources also provide few details about the true capabilities of this type of drone.

The attack on Masrour Barzani’s office came a day after a report indicated that the US had turned to Nechirvan Barzani as a potential backchannel in talks with Iran. His office confirmed that he had played a role. The attack also took place as Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi has continued to say he will work to disarm Iranian-backed militias in the country. This has become a major political issue in Iraq over the last year amid US pressure for Baghdad to move against the groups.

Many countries in the Middle East condemned Iran and its proxies’ latest attacks on northern Iraq. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s strongest condemnation and denunciation of the brutal attacks on the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, which targeted the office of the Prime Minister of the Region, Mr. Masrour Barzani, in flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the fraternal Republic of Iraq and the safety of its territories,” the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia said. Other Gulf countries, such as Qatar and the UAE, also issued statements.

Ambassador Tom Barrack, the US Envoy to Iraq and Syria, condemned the attack in a statement on August 17. “Such aggression against our trusted Kurdish allies is unacceptable and a direct threat to regional stability. We will not condone or tolerate these hostilities. We fully support Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s leadership in restoring Iraq’s full sovereignty and ensuring all weapons and security forces remain under the authority of the Iraqi state,” he wrote.

The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), a Kurdish Iranian opposition group, also put out a statement against the attack on August 18. In addition, Iraq’s Siyada Coalition, a Sunni Arab political group, slammed the attack.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi claimed that nothing justified the attack on Barzani’s office and asserted that it was a “false flag.”

The attack came three days after three armed drones were downed over Erbil on August 14. Kataib Sayyid al Shuhada, an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq that is sanctioned as a terrorist group by the US, denied on August 15 that it was behind the previous day’s drone attack on the Kurdish capital.

Reporting from Israel, Seth J. Frantzman is an adjunct fellow at FDD and a contributor to FDD’s Long War Journal. He is the senior Middle East correspondent and analyst at The Jerusalem Post, and author of The October 7 War: Israel’s Battle for Security in Gaza (2024).