Iranian Strike Targets Erbil Airport as Regional Conflict Spreads to Iraq

2026-03-02 region

Erbil, 2 March 2026
Air defence systems intercepted three drones over Erbil International Airport on 1 March following Iranian missile and drone attacks targeting US military bases in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. The strike occurred as Iran retaliated against American and Israeli forces after Saturday’s joint operation that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Explosions and fires broke out at the airport as intensive air defence operations worked to counter the incoming threats, marking Iraq’s direct involvement in the escalating regional conflict despite government efforts to remain neutral.

Expanding Theatre of Operations

This latest escalation follows Iran’s unprecedented assault on US allies across the Gulf region, where the UAE intercepted 165 ballistic missiles and 541 drones in a single day beginning 29 February 2026, as previously reported. The conflict has now expanded northward into Iraqi territory, with Iranian state broadcaster Press TV confirming that an American military base in Erbil was targeted with several drones and missiles on Sunday evening [1]. The attack represents a significant shift in Iran’s targeting strategy, moving beyond Gulf states to directly engage US assets in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.

Iraq’s Deteriorating Security Environment

The strike on Erbil airport occurred alongside multiple other incidents across Iraq on 1 March, demonstrating the country’s vulnerability to the expanding regional conflict. Air raid sirens sounded at Baghdad International Airport as a missile was seen crossing Iraqi airspace near the facility [5]. In Basra, parts of rockets and drones fell without causing casualties, though Governor Asaad Al-Eidani clarified these were internal rather than foreign projectiles [5]. Additional incidents included rockets landing in agricultural areas in Kirkuk and two drones crashing in Nineveh province [5].

Government Struggles to Maintain Neutrality

Despite Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani’s efforts to keep the country out of the regional war, armed factions within Iraq are increasingly drawing the nation into the conflict. On Sunday, supporters of Kataib Hezbollah and other Iran-aligned factions attempted to reach the US embassy in Baghdad’s Green Zone but were stopped by Iraqi security forces [5]. The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed concern that strikes targeting armed factions and reports of attacks on the Harir base in the Kurdistan Region ‘aim in a systematic way to push Iraq towards the armed conflicts taking place in the region’ [5]. As journalist Mustafa Fahs noted, while the entry of factions into the war does not mean the Iraqi state has declared war, the government’s control over all militias remains ‘partial and limited if the conflict escalates regionally’ [5].

Refugee Communities Face Heightened Security Risks

The targeting of civilian infrastructure, including airports that serve as critical evacuation routes, poses particular risks for Iraq’s vulnerable populations. The Kurdistan region, which hosts the targeted Erbil airport, serves as home to hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced persons who fled previous conflicts in Syria and other parts of Iraq [GPT]. With German army units stationed in both Iraq and Jordan now facing Iranian missile attacks, according to Der Spiegel reporting on strikes near Erbil airport and a German field camp in Azraq, eastern Jordan [6], the international military presence that often provides security guarantees for refugee populations is itself under threat. The conflict’s expansion into Iraqi territory threatens the relative stability that has allowed the Kurdistan region to serve as a safe haven, potentially forcing new waves of displacement as the war’s geographic scope continues to widen.

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Middle East Regional Security