Leverage or Liability? Kurdistan’s Gas on the Iraqi & Regional Chessboard

Sep 17, 2025 | American University School of International Service
Washington, DC
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Co-sponsored by the Department of Politics, Governance & Economics, the Global Kurdish Initiative for Peace at the School of International Service is pleased to host a timely panel discussion on the geoeconomics of natural gas in the Middle East, with a particular focus on the strategic trajectories of the gas sectors in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, and how they might impact the regional power dynamics.

The Kurdistan Region’s emerging gas sector could become either Erbil’s next source of strategic leverage or a costly liability. Natural gas has become a central arena of rivalry across the Middle East, and both Iraq and the Kurdistan Region are positioned at its crossroads. This panel, featuring leading think tank experts and former officials, will explore how Kurdish–Iraqi gas is reshaping strategic balances at home and across the region: from disputes between Erbil and Baghdad over revenues, contracts, and infrastructure, to the quieter inter-state competition over export routes, markets, and influence.

The panel will assess how Iran and Russia view the Kurdistan Region’s gas, including Tehran’s interest in preserving export leverage over Iraq and limiting rival routes, and Moscow’s stakes in regional corridors, investment plays, and market share. The discussion will also examine how the United States can help ensure Iraqi energy security by mediating durable Baghdad–Erbil arrangements, backing gas-to-power and flaring-reduction projects, mobilizing financing and risk cover, coordinating with Turkey and Gulf partners on interconnections, and supporting the protection of energy infrastructure.

This event will feature expert panelists Victoria Taylor, Raad Alkadiri, and Noam Raydan, and will be moderated by Yerevan Saeed, SIS Professor and Director of the Global Kurdish Initiative for Peace.

The panel will conclude with a Q&A session and Middle Eastern cuisine will be served at the end of the event.

The event will be held 4:00 - 5:30 pm EDT in the Founders Room of the School of International Service.