Patriot missile systems seen in Turkey in 2015.
Iran’s unprecedented drone and missile attack targeting Israel over the weekend revealed the United States has deployed a MIM-104 Patriot missile defense system in Iraqi Kurdistan. If that is indeed the case, placing the system in the autonomous region has several benefits for both the United States and its longstanding Kurdish ally.
Out of the estimated 120 ballistic missiles Tehran fired—as part of a strike package that also included cruise missiles and explosive drones—at Israel, a Patriot missile shot one down over Iraqi Kurdistan. Its remains landed in Soran, roughly 60 miles outside the autonomous region’s capital city, Erbil.
Several explosions were also heard in Erbil during that dramatic night, possibly some of the fighter intercepts of the drones Iran launched over Iraq at Israel. Of course, fighter jets cannot intercept ballistic missiles, nor can the point defense C-RAM the U.S. has at its troop base in Erbil, making the Soran incident noteworthy.
The United States previously deployed a Patriot battery at its troop base in Erbil International Airport in 2020, a few weeks after Iran’s then-unprecedented ballistic missile attack against U.S. troops in Iraq days after a U.S. drone strike assassinated Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad. But that deployment proved temporary.
Iraqi Kurdistan needs air defenses now more than at any other time in this century. Since 2020, Iran-backed Iraqi militias have carried out increasingly brazen and destructive rocket and drone attacks against Iraqi Kurdistan.
Most worryingly, Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps paramilitary has directly targeted urban areas in Erbil with ballistic missiles on two occasions—March 2022 and January 2024. Both strikes were unprecedented, especially the latter, killing four civilians, including a prominent Kurdish businessman. It’s worth emphasizing that both attacks were against wholly civilian targets.
It’s unclear when the United States redeployed a Patriot system in Erbil, but it’s undoubtedly a development readily welcomed by the Kurds. As recently as February, Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani stressed his region’s urgent need for air defenses. Since regional tensions flared following the onset of the Gaza war last October, it was immediately clear that Iran and its proxies would identify Iraqi Kurdistan as a weak spot and attack it.
Furthermore, this Patriot deployment could go a long way in giving the Iraqi Kurds some assurances about the defense and security of their landlocked homeland.
The 2024 National Defense Authorization Act passed by Congress contains a provision for training and equipping Iraqi Kurdistan’s Peshmerga armed forces with air defenses. However, these are unlikely to be as advanced as Patriots or any high-end air defense system capable of downing ballistic missiles. Nevertheless, even a short- to medium-range system capable of intercepting rockets and drones would significantly boost Iraqi Kurdistan’s almost non-existent air defenses.
Having a Patriot system in Erbil also benefits the United States. Aside from shielding its soldiers against another January 2020-style ballistic missile strike, it also expands and plugs a significant gap in its air and missile defense coverage over the region.
The Jordanian air force notably assisted the joint efforts of the U.S., Britain and France by intercepting some of the drones overflying its territory. Unlike Jordan, Iraqi Kurdistan conspicuously lacks any fighter jets. And while Iraq does have a fleet of F-16s, they have shorter-range air-to-air missiles than their Jordanian counterparts. Iraq’s ground-based air defenses are limited to medium-range Russian Pantsir-S1s and short-range American Avenger systems, which fire Stinger missiles.
Furthermore, Iraq’s government likely wanted to avoid being perceived as aiding Israel’s defense by intercepting Iranian drones. After all, the current government in Baghdad was brought to power by Iran-aligned factions, and Iraq never had relations with Israel.
Given these factors, the Patriot in Iraqi Kurdistan is well-placed. It bolsters an increasingly integrated regional air defense network. It also reassures a long-term regional partner that has found itself under increasing pressure in recent months, both from Iraqi Federal Supreme Court rulings of dubious constitutional legitimacy systemically stripping away its economic and political autonomy and by unprovoked physical attacks.
These reasons should convince Washington to keep this system in place until regional tensions thaw substantially, which might not happen anytime soon.
