On the 3^rd of January, a US drone strike killed top Iranian general Qassem Suleimani. In the early hours of the 8^th of January Iran launched ballistic missile attacks on US bases in Iraq and Kurdistan.

Iraq has also been experiencing months of protests in Baghdad and other cities, although this has not affected Iraqi Kurdistan.

YPT is of course monitoring the situation closely in cooperation with our local partners. At present our tours to Southern Iraq and Iran are still scheduled as normal, but if the situation rapidly deteriorates and there is a risk to travellers in those countries we will cancel the tours.

Our Iraqi Kurdistan tour is also scheduled to go ahead as normal. Kurdistan has long been a relative bastion of stability in the midst of chaos in the region. Last night, Iran targeted a US military base in Erbil, Kurdistan, and we will again be monitoring the situation there closely.

If you are booked on one of these tours and would like more information or advice, then please get in touch on tours@youngpioneertours.com

If you are interested in YPT’s trips to the Middle East then find out more here