What Trump said about the attack on Iran by the Kurds

US President Donald Trump said that he does not want Iraqi Kurdish fighters to participate in the ongoing war against Iran. However, he had previously supported this issue.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday (March 7), Trump said that he does not want the Kurds to enter Iran. He made these comments on the way back to ‘Air Force One’ after attending a ceremony to repatriate the bodies of the first six US soldiers killed in the conflict with Iran.

Trump said, ‘I do not want the Kurds to go into Iran. They are ready to go, but I have told them not to go there. The war is complicated enough. We do not want the Kurds to be injured or killed.’ He made these comments as the military operation against Iran led by the United States and Israel entered its second week.

Earlier on Thursday, Trump welcomed the possible participation of the Kurds. At the time, he said, “If they want to do it, that would be great—I would fully support it.” He was even reported to have discussed the matter with Kurdish leaders. However, it is unclear why he changed his position later.

In recent days, there has been increasing talk of a possible military operation in Iran’s Kurdish-dominated regions. There are also reports that Washington is encouraging such a move.

Some reports claimed that Iraqi Kurdish groups have already crossed the border into Iran. However, the Iraqi government and the autonomous Kurdistan authorities denied this claim, saying that Iraqi territory cannot be used to attack a neighboring country.

Meanwhile, various international media outlets reported that anti-Iranian Kurdish groups based in northern Iraq are preparing for a possible military operation across the border, and the United States has sought the support of Iraqi Kurds in this.

Another report said that Israeli airstrikes are being carried out in some areas of western Iran to support Kurdish militias seeking to capture border cities.

In his speech on Saturday, Trump claimed that Iran may have been behind the attack on a girls' elementary school in southern Iran that killed about 150 people on the first day of the war, although a US internal investigation has said that the attack was likely carried out by US forces.

He also rejected accusations against Russia. Trump said there was no indication that Russia was providing intelligence to Iran. Trump also said that the United States was not interested in negotiating with Iran at this time. Instead, he wanted to choose a new leader who would not drag the country into war again.

He said that if the ongoing airstrikes destroyed Iran's military capabilities and potential leaders were killed, then the issue of negotiations could become irrelevant.

He said the war would "go on for a while", but declined to give a specific time frame. Although his press secretary had previously said that the conflict could last four to six weeks.

Trump, on the other hand, criticized British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on social media. He claimed that the UK is now considering sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East.

Trump wrote, "We don't need them anymore. But we will remember - we don't need those who join after the war is almost over."
Asked whether US ground forces could be deployed to Iran, Trump said, "It could be possible. But there would have to be a very strong reason for it."

When asked about Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium, he said that the US is not currently focusing on recovering it, but that may be done in the future.

Source: Times of Israel.