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Türkiye Lifts Flight Ban on Airport in Kurdish Region after Peace Initiative with PKK

A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
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Türkiye Lifts Flight Ban on Airport in Kurdish Region after Peace Initiative with PKK

A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, September 30, 2020. (Reuters)

Türkiye has lifted its flight ban on an airport in Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region, a restriction originally imposed in 2023 due to concerns over alleged Kurdish militant activity in the area.

The decision to resume flights to Sulaymaniyah International Airport was announced by the office of Nechirvan Barzani, president of the Kurdish Region, late Thursday following a meeting in Ankara with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, The AP news reported.

Erdogan and Barzani discussed Türkiye's relations with Iraq and the Kurdish region, as well as opportunities for cooperation and regional developments, according to a statement from Erdogan’s office.

Türkiye imposed the ban two years ago, citing an alleged increase in operations by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in Sulaymaniyah that it said posed risks to flight safety.

The PKK, designated a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, and the European Union, has led a decades-long insurgency in Türkiyethat has extended into Iraq and Syria, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths.

Earlier this year, the PKK agreed to disband and renounce armed conflict as part of a new peace initiative with Türkiye. A symbolic disarmament ceremony was held near Sulaymaniyah in July.

In a statement, the Kurdistan Region Presidency welcomed Türkiye's decision, calling it a reflection of the strong ties between the two sides and a move that would deepen mutual cooperation.

Turkish Airlines also confirmed the resumption of flights.

“As the flag carrier, we continue to proudly represent Türkiye in the skies across the globe. In line with this vision, we are delighted to soon reconnect our Sulaymaniyah route with the skies once again,” the company's spokesperson, Yahya Ustun, said on social media.

The decision came as Iraq’s foreign minister, Fuad Hussein, arrived in the Turkish capital for talks with Turkish officials to discuss the water issue between the two countries and ways to expand cooperation, Iraqi officials said. Baghdad has complained that dams built by Türkiye are reducing Iraq’s water supply.

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World

Iran Rejects Curbs on Its Uranium Enrichment Program

FILE - This satellite image provided by Vantor shows the Natanz nuclear complex in Iran on March 7, 2026, with no new damage seen at the facility or the tunnels. (Satellite image ©2026 Vantor via AP, file)
FILE - This satellite image provided by Vantor shows the Natanz nuclear complex in Iran on March 7, 2026, with no new damage seen at the facility or the tunnels. (Satellite image ©2026 Vantor via AP, file)
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Iran Rejects Curbs on Its Uranium Enrichment Program

FILE - This satellite image provided by Vantor shows the Natanz nuclear complex in Iran on March 7, 2026, with no new damage seen at the facility or the tunnels. (Satellite image ©2026 Vantor via AP, file)
FILE - This satellite image provided by Vantor shows the Natanz nuclear complex in Iran on March 7, 2026, with no new damage seen at the facility or the tunnels. (Satellite image ©2026 Vantor via AP, file)

The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, on Thursday ruled out accepting any restrictions on the country’s uranium enrichment program, as demanded by the United States and Israel.

In an interview with the ISNA news agency, Eslami said: “The demands and conditions set by our enemies to restrict Iran’s enrichment program are nothing but daydreams that will be buried,” AFP reported.

The remarks come as talks between Washington and Tehran are expected to be held at the end of the week under Islamabad’s auspices, as part of a ceasefire agreement brokered by Pakistan. The discussions are expected to address Tehran’s nuclear program.

Western powers accuse Iran of seeking to acquire a nuclear weapon and have worked to prevent it from doing so, while Tehran has consistently denied the allegations.

During his first term, US President Donald Trump withdrew from the landmark 2015 agreement that had placed limits on Iran’s nuclear enrichment activities in exchange for sanctions relief, a deal opposed by Israel.

World

Germany's Merz: We Do Not Want NATO to Split over US-Iran War

Commemorative photo of NATO leaders in The Hague in 2025 (Turkish Presidency).
Commemorative photo of NATO leaders in The Hague in 2025 (Turkish Presidency).
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Germany's Merz: We Do Not Want NATO to Split over US-Iran War

Commemorative photo of NATO leaders in The Hague in 2025 (Turkish Presidency).
Commemorative photo of NATO leaders in The Hague in 2025 (Turkish Presidency).

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday he did not want US-Iran war to place any further strain on relations between the United States and its European NATO partners.

"We do not want – I do not want – NATO to split. NATO is a guarantor of our security, including and above all in Europe," he said, speaking to journalists.

He added he had encouraged US President Donald Trump in a call to pursue negotiations with Iran with urgency.

Germany was resuming direct talks with Iranian leadership in Tehran, Merz said in Berlin.

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Pentagon Leaders Assert Destruction of Iran’s Military Capabilities, Threaten to Resume Operations

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to members of the media during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to members of the media during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
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Pentagon Leaders Assert Destruction of Iran’s Military Capabilities, Threaten to Resume Operations

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to members of the media during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to members of the media during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The US war against Iran has "completely" destroyed the country's ability to build missiles or other sophisticated weaponry, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday

"We finished completely destroying Iran's defense-industrial base, a core pillar of our mission," Hegseth told reporters.

"They can no longer build missiles."

For his part, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine said: “We attacked, along with our partners, approximately 90 percent of their weapons factories,” including facilities producing Shahed-type drones, as well as facilities manufacturing guidance systems used by these drones.

Regarding the naval fleet, Caine said that it will take years before Iran can rebuild its surface combatant capabilities.

The general added that approximately 80 percent of Iran’s nuclear industrial base was targeted, significantly undermining its nuclear weapons development efforts.

He warned that US forces remain ready to resume fighting with Iran if the ceasefire ends, stating: “Let’s be clear: the ceasefire is just a temporary pause. The armed forces remain ready, if ordered, to resume combat operations with the same speed and precision demonstrated over the past 38 days.”

Statements by Dan Caine, and his warning about a possible resumption of fighting, suggest that the announcement of a suspension of the war came under US pressure, according to Michael Rubin, a researcher at the American Enterprise Institute.

As for the restoration of freedom of navigation, military officials’ statements did not indicate that it has been fully secured, instead emphasizing the need to “ensure Iran’s compliance” and the safe passage of vessels.

At the same time, there were continued indications that ships received messages from Iranian forces stating that they require permission to transit the strait, suggesting that Tehran is seeking to establish a new equation: keeping Hormuz open on the condition of recognizing a supervisory or sovereign role for itself.

If that is the case, the region and the global economy would be entering a phase that goes beyond a mere ceasefire, as the risk shifts from missiles to the rules governing transit, insurance, pricing, and maritime fees.

Statements by Pentagon leaders, followed by remarks from Donald Trump, reveal that the real dispute is not over the ceasefire itself, but over what comes after it. Washington rejects the continuation of Iranian uranium enrichment and is demanding that the stockpile of highly enriched uranium be handed over, or “taken” by force if necessary.

By contrast, narratives circulating in Iranian media about the “ten points” of the ceasefire agreement point in a completely different direction: recognition of Iran’s right to enrich, the lifting of sanctions, and no clear position on the fate of the enriched stockpile.

This is precisely where the structural contradiction lies, one that could undermine the negotiating round from its very first day, according to Michael Rubin.

The second aspect of the dispute concerns the scope of de-escalation. The United States and Israel have made clear that a ceasefire with Iran does not mean a halt to Israeli operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah, while reports continued of missile and drone attacks on Gulf states in the hours following the truce. This suggests that the region is facing a form of “selective de-escalation,” according to observers: a direct easing between Washington and Tehran, while proxy arenas and exchanges of messages remain active.

Remarks by Hegseth that Washington had been prepared, just hours earlier, to strike power stations, bridges, and oil and energy infrastructure “that Iran cannot rebuild” indicate that the decision to halt hostilities did not stem from a fully realized settlement, but rather from the suspension of a massive escalatory strike against Tehran.

Accordingly, the ceasefire appears more like a testing window: if Tehran complies with conditions related to navigation and the transfer of uranium, the truce could hold and pave the way toward a definitive end to the war. If not, the United States may return to the option of large-scale destruction of infrastructure.