US President Donald Trump on Thursday said Washington must be involved in choosing the next leader of Iran and said it would be “wonderful" if Iranian Kurdish forces based in Iraq were to cross into Iran to launch attacks on Tehran’s security forces.
In an interview withReuters, Trump encouraged Iranian Kurdish forces to go on the offensive as the war with Iran entered its sixth day. “I think it’s wonderful that they want to do that, I’d be all for it," he said.
When asked if the US would provide or had offered air cover for Iranian Kurdish forces who are considering an intervention in western Iran, Trump responded, “I can’t tell you that," but added that the objective for the Kurds would be “to win."
Kurdish militias in Iran have already consulted with the United States in recent days on attacking Iran’s security forces in the western part of the country, people familiar with the matter toldReuters. The Iranian Kurdish coalition of groups based on the Iran-Iraq border in the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan has been training to mount such an attack in hopes of weakening the country’s military.
Trump Offering Support To Kurdish Forces?
Earlier, people familiar with the war effort told theWashington Postthat Trump has offered “extensive US aircover" and other backing for the anti-regime Iranian Kurds to take over portions of western Iran.
A senior official of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), one of the two major political parties that governs Iran’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, said the US request to the Iraqi Kurds has been to “open the way and not obstruct" Iranian Kurds mobilising in Iraq.
ALSO READ:‘They’re Wasting Their Time’: Trump Says He Must Be Involved In Picking Iran’s Next Leader
Trump “was clear in his call" on Sunday with PUK leader Bafel Talabani, in which he said the Kurds must choose a side in this battle – either with America and Israel or with Iran," the official said. A senior official of the Kurdish Democratic Party said Trump also called the party’s leader Masoud Barzani.
Trump also spoke on Tuesday with Mustafa Hijri, the head of the oldest Iranian Kurdish opposition party, the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI). The party has urged all Iranian Kurdish fighters to withdraw support from the “regime’s armed and repressive forces."
Source: World News in news18.com, World Latest News, World News
