" Extensive U.S. air support " and other forms of aid were offered to Iranian Kurdish opposition groups this week by Donald Trump, according to a Washington Post report.
Trump has been communicating in recent days with Kurdish leaders from Iran and the autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq.
According to a senior official of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Washington's request to the Iraqi Kurds was to "pave the way and not hinder Iranian Kurdish groups inside Iraq ," while also providing logistical support.
The PUK is one of Iraq's two main Kurdish parties and is usually considered closer to Iran and further from Israel, compared to the opposing party, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
"Trump was clear," the PUK official said, referring to the US president's phone call on Sunday with Bafar Talabani, the union's leader.
" He told us that the Kurds must choose a camp in this battle, either with America and Israel, or with Iran ."
Trump also contacted the head of the KDP, Masoud Barzani .
A senior official from his party told the Washington Post that Trump conveyed a similar message to him, adding that “it’s not about who has the most active militias to cross into Iran, but who has the most support at home.”
The situation for the Kurds of Iran and Iraq remains difficult. The US has supported the Kurds in Iraq and Syria, but has often prioritized the interests of the Kurds' most powerful state opponents.
Iraq's Kurds have reached an uneasy compromise with Iran, agreeing not to support attacks against each other.
Iranian Kurds, if the current government remains in power, could face retaliation.
Israeli and American media reported an attack by Iranian Kurdish forces overnight, which was later withdrawn.
"We are in a very sensitive position," said the senior PUK official.
“ If this ground attack fails, we don’t know how Iran will react to the Kurdistan region of Iraq. At the same time, we can’t simply refuse Trump’s request, especially when he personally invites us and asks for it .”/ WashingtonPost