SULAYMANIYAH, Iraq — Top security and business leaders from around the world will gather these next days here in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) part of Iraq to chart a pathway forward for what one key official told Breitbart News is a “complex region” as the world looks to decipher what is next for the Middle East in the aftermath of the U.S.-Iran war.
The Slemani Strategic Forum on Thursday and Friday will see top Iraqi and other officials openly discussing the future of the region after American President Donald Trump declared this week that the U.S. war against Iran is “effectively over” and that any renewed offensive from the Americans is “quite unlikely.” Trump’s declaration of what essentially amounts to the end of the conflict comes after sweeping Democrat wins and Republican losses in the U.S. midterm elections last week that both Trump and Vice President JD Vance have attributed in large part to public dissatisfaction with the war’s effects on the American economy. The U.S. economy is still recovering from the massive surge in inflation that happened under now former President Joe Biden, a Democrat. That, along with the Iranians creating a chokepoint in the Strait of Hormuz for oil shipments as retaliation against Trump’s decision to use America’s military to eliminate Iran’s nuclear program and the U.S. killing of longtime Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini did not help matters for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections in the U.S.
Here in KRG, the northern semi-autonomous part of Iraq that is controlled by Iraqi Kurds and also borders Iran itself, the hope has long been—since much earlier in 2026—that the war would come to a close, which could create major opportunities for both this region as a whole and for the United States. Back in April at the Delphi Economic Forum in Delphi, Greece, Kurdistan Regional Government Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani told Breitbart News that Trump is the “master of the deal” and the Kurds hope that Trump would secure an agreement with Iran to end the war. At that time, negotiations between the two sides were heading toward what would become the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that Vance brokered between the U.S. and Iran. The MOU eventually collapsed, but the principles behind it—broader economic cooperation and a signature Trump diplomatic trademark, remain sound—but the hope now is now that the U.S. has achieved its military objectives in full according to Trump and after the U.S. midterm elections that a true lasting peace will now be possible. Talabani, in that interview with Breitbart News in the spring, which Trump himself shared on Truth Social, getting it instant worldwide attention, discussed the possibility of American energy companies doing even more business in the region and even in Iran, much like what Trump has accomplished with Venezuela after the capture of Nicolas Maduro and the rise of Delcy Rodriguez there.
Kurds here are excited to pitch Iraq—and the Kurdistan Regional Government in particular—as a bridge to bring security, stability, and prosperity to the Middle East and to the “wider world.” Talabani made clear to Breitbart News that the Kurds have stood with the United States through thick and thin, and that the hope now is as things hopefully improve in the region that even deeper ties develop between the U.S. and the Iraqi Kurds.
“The Middle East’s future is inseparable from the future of the wider world. The Slemani Strategic Forum brings us together to discuss our place in that world—and how we can help shape it,” Talabani said in a statement to Breitbart News on Tuesday. “The Kurds have learned to navigate a complex region. We want the world to know us as such. We want it to know us as entrepreneurs, innovators, and partners in building lasting regional prosperity. We have stood alongside the United States through difficult times. That partnership has strong foundations, and our ambition is to extend it into the industries, investments, and opportunities that will define the next generation.”
The Slemani Strategic Forum, which occurs Thursday and Friday here, will feature panels and conversations with top Iraqis and Kurds including Talabani and his brother Bafel Talabani. Their father was the late Jalal Talabani, the president of all of Iraq immediately after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Other speakers will include Nizar Amedi, the current president of all of Iraq and former chief of staff to several other Iraqi presidents, several other top Iraqi and Kurdish officials, and current and former officials from several countries including Greece, the United Kingdom, the United States, Brazil, Kuwait, Jordan, Romania, Kosovo, Ukraine, India, Italy, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Turkey, Nigeria, Colombia, and Spain. In addition, business and media leaders from many of these countries and throughout the region and around the world will descend on Kurdistan for the summit as well.
One such leader, Peshawa Siwayli who is the chairman of Alpha Steel Industries and a member of the Slemani Strategic Forum’s steering committee, told Breitbart News he is hopeful the event deepens business and investment ties with between the Kurds and the rest of the world.
“As business leaders, we have a responsibility to help shape the region’s future,” Siwayli said. “The Slemani Strategic Forum brings industry and policymakers together to discuss what it takes to build competitive businesses, attract long-term investment, and create lasting opportunities for our people.”
Dara Rashid, the Minister of Planning for the Kurdistan Regional Government, added in a statement that the goal of the forum is to develop deeper long-term ties and partnerships.
“The Slemani Strategic Forum is an opportunity to discuss how the Kurdistan Region can help shape the Middle East’s future,” Rashid said. “Our ambition is to turn longstanding international partnerships into investment, a more diverse economy, and skilled jobs for the next generation.”
Much more is forthcoming from Breitbart News’s exclusive on-the-ground reporting from Sulaymaniyah at the Slemani Strategic Forum.
