'We're very friendly with...': Trump's Kurdish U-turn amid raging war with Iran
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'We're very friendly with...': Trump's Kurdish U-turn amid raging war with Iran")
Trump's Kurdish dilemma Photograph: (AFP)
Trump said he does not want Kurdish forces launching an offensive against Iran, reversing earlier remarks supporting such a move. Reports claimed Kurdish fighters were active near the Iran–Iraq border and could receive outside backing, but Iraqi Kurdistan officials denied
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday (Mar 7) aboard Air Force One that he did not want the Kurds to launch an offensive against Iran. This come in sharp contrast with his statement to Reuters news agency on Thursday when he said that he would be "all for" an offensive by Iranian Kurdish fighters in support of the US-Israeli war against the Islamic republic. “We're not looking to the Kurds going in. We're very friendly with the Kurds, as you know, but we don't want to make the war any more complex than it already is,” he said.
What reports claimed about Kurdish involvement?
The Jerusalem Post, earlier this week, reported that hundreds of Kurdish fighters have begun ground activity in areas near the Iraq-Iran border. However, an official in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of Iraq said that the region rejects the use of its territory to launch attacks against neighboring countries, while emphasizing that decisions regarding such matters fall under the authority of the federal government in Baghdad. The Deputy Chief of Staff of Iraqi Kurdistan, Aziz Ahmad has called the reports fake and said, “Not a single Iraqi Kurd has crossed the border.”
What was the conversation between Iran FM and Kurdish leader?
Iraqi Kurdish leader and Iranian foreign minister spoke after reports of CIA arming Iranian Kurds. "During the conversation, Bafel Talabani expressed his condolences and sympathy over the martyrdom of the Supreme Leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) and all those killed in the American-Zionist crime," the ministry said in a statement. The statement added that Araghchi also referred to "terrorist movements" along the shared border and stressed the need to strengthen cooperation to safeguard border security in line with bilateral security understandings.
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CIA arming Iranian Kurds?
An Axios report claimed that several Kurdish Iranian factions are preparing for a possible ground offensive against Iran and the Mossad and the CIA are backing them, two U.S. and Israeli officials and a third source with knowledge said., according to U.S. and Israeli officials and a senior official in one of the factions. "The war started with a kinetic phase by the U.S. and Israeli militaries, but as the war continues there will be other efforts by the Mossad and the CIA," an Israeli official said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Congress in a closed-door briefing on Tuesday: "We're not arming the Kurds. But you never know with the Israelis."
