Here’s a quick note.
According to JINSA’s Midday Brief (email), on March 23,
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander Admiral Brad Cooper assessed in a March 22 interview that Iran’s attacks on Middle East civilian targets—which he said numbered over 300 in the past two weeks—are “a sign of desperation.”
- Admiral Cooper detailed the U.S. and Israeli successes in the war, stating, “our achievements are obvious, if you zoom out and look at the situation. The Iranian Navy is no longer at sea. The Iranian Air Force is no longer flying. The air defense is no longer shooting.”
- Admiral Cooper further stated, “the large salvos of [Iranian] drones and missiles that you saw at the beginning of the war have now largely degraded into one and two [launched at a time] at this point.”
- In Admiral Cooper’s assessment, “the Strait of Hormuz is physically open to transit. The reason that ships are not transiting right now is not because the Islamic Republic [of Iran] is shooting at them with drones and missiles.”
- He added that more than 20 countries have joined a coalition to safeguard commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
- Directly addressing the Iranian people, Admiral Cooper said, “we are attacking the regime in the Islamic Republic, not the wonderful people [of Iran].” He added, “you need to stay inside for right now. There will be a clear signal at some point, as the President has indicated, for you to be able to come out.”
Here’s a chart from the brief.
Events continue to move quickly. Note this headline from Bloomberg this morning (gift link):
“Saudis and UAE Take Steps Toward Joining Iran War, WSJ Reports” | Bloomberg News,
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-24/saudis-uae-take-some-steps-toward-joining-iran-war-wsj-says?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc3NDM1OTY1MiwiZXhwIjoxNzc0OTY0NDUyLCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJUQ0ROQkVLSVVQVE8wMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJBNEI1RjY3M0U3RUE0REFDOTMzODFBQzBCQkEzODczMSJ9.V2Km1i0MzC7XQd4gS0L20as-1qt5ZaWBU-FDoZ9fupA
But amid the ongoing barrage of new developments, let’s take a moment to consider the war’s impact on Kurdistan.
We are watching the buildup in the Kurdish areas, home to about 40–45 million folks in four countries who have desired and fought for their own territory without success. The countries are Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran. Kurds constitute about 10% of Iran’s population. The Kurdish border area is situated in a section of Iran where the borders are porous. There has, of course, been both positive and negative history between the US and the Kurds. A fragmented Iran offers the Kurds options if they have US assurances and support. Notice that a part of the Joint Force aerial campaign targeted IRGC installations in the areas where a Kurdish front could open against the IRGC regime on a border porous enough to allow logistical supply to a Kurdish force.
We have no idea what comes next.
Here’s a reading list.
Further Reading
“Iraqi Kurds mark Nowruz, celebrating light over darkness” | OPB,
https://www.opb.org/article/2026/03/21/nowruz-celebrations-in-kurdish-iraq-honor-spring/“An Overview of the Kurds, Including the Discrimination They Face” | Doc’s Prescriptions,
https://docwerlin.com/2026/03/10/an-overview-of-the-kurds-including-the-discrimination-they-face/“What’s going on in Iran?| The Economist at LinkedIn (video):
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/america-and-israel-have-attacked-iran-what-ugcPost-7437839429949489152-5jtL“Iran rains missiles onto Israel and mocks Trump’s talk of joint control of strait” | Reuters,
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/iran-sends-waves-missiles-into-israel-dismisses-trumps-talk-negotiations-fake-2026-03-24/
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