The United States Is Considering Erbil’s Request for Advanced Air Defense Systems

Political sources in Washington reported that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is seriously studying a request submitted by the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to obtain advanced air defense systems, amid increasing rocket and drone attacks targeting oil and gas facilities in the region, particularly the “Kormor” gas field.

According to the sources, the discussion within the U.S. administration comes as part of evaluating options to enhance the protection of the region’s energy infrastructure, which has for months been subjected to repeated attacks that—according to U.S. assessments—threaten the region’s security and economic stability, as well as the interests of international companies operating in the oil and gas sector.

Officials in Erbil believe that providing the region with air defense systems is necessary to fill what they describe as a “gap in aerial protection” against attacks they accuse locally backed, Iran-supported groups of carrying out. The federal government in Baghdad has not issued an official statement regarding the party responsible for these attacks.

The U.S. review of this proposal is expected to raise political sensitivities in Iraq, as Baghdad asserts that air defense systems fall under the authority of the federal forces and that control of the airspace is exclusively within the jurisdiction of the central government. Iraqi political factions fear that providing the region with such equipment may lead to further tensions between the two sides.

Conversely, American sources indicate that the discussion comes within Washington’s commitments to its partners in the region, amid growing criticism of Baghdad’s failure to take effective steps to halt attacks on energy facilities, which are a key pillar of the Kurdistan Region’s economy.

Discussions within the U.S. administration remain in their early stages, with no confirmation regarding the timing or mechanism for making a final decision on supplying the region with air defense systems.