The regional agency said two Hadid-110 drones were involved in the early Monday attacks. It attributed their launch to Iranian territory, but its statement did not establish whether either aircraft struck its intended target. That allegation remained disputed, and no publicly described evidence in the supplied reporting independently identified who operated the drones.
Barzani denounced the incident and characterised it as a direct challenge to the Kurdistan Region's security and stability. His response placed the attacks in a politically sensitive setting: the Kurdistan Regional Government exercises substantial autonomy within Iraq and maintains its own institutions, while also navigating relations with Baghdad, neighbouring Iran and a range of armed actors.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected any rationale for attacking Barzani's office. He suggested the incident could have been staged to create friction between Tehran and the Kurdish authorities, urging regional officials to be alert to that possibility. His comment did not identify another perpetrator and should be read as Iran's position rather than a confirmed account of events.
Iraq's prime minister, Ali Faleh al-Zaidi, ordered an investigative committee to examine the attacks. According to his media office, the panel was tasked with determining the drones' point of origin, identifying those responsible and recommending further action. That inquiry offered a formal route to test the competing claims from Erbil and Tehran.
The episode also reflected longstanding security tensions around Iranian Kurdish opposition organisations. Iranian authorities and allied armed groups have repeatedly alleged that such organisations use territory in Iraq's Kurdish region to threaten Iran. Kurdish officials deny permitting attacks on neighbouring states from areas under their control. Those competing accusations form part of the background but do not, by themselves, establish a motive or perpetrator in this case.
The absence of reported deaths limited the immediate human toll, yet the selection of senior political and security sites made the incident consequential. An attack on the head of the regional government and its security leadership risks worsening relations across an already contested border environment. Until investigators publish verifiable findings, the source of the drones and whether they reached their targets remain unresolved.
The second target was described as the residence of the head of the regional security and intelligence agency, meaning the two drones were directed at separate parts of the Kurdish leadership. Iraq's decision to form a national committee also signalled that Baghdad, not only the regional administration in Erbil, viewed clarification of the launch site and responsibility as a federal concern.
