Reports indicate they have had negative experiences serving as a proxy for Washington in previous conflicts.
According to an Axios report on Saturday, Iraqi Kurds are opposed to participating in US-led strikes against Iran, citing fears that they would be left vulnerable to Iranian retaliation without adequate ground or air defense support.
CNN reported that the CIA initiated efforts to arm Kurdish factions opposed to the Islamic Republic following joint US and Israeli strikes on Iran last Saturday. Although President Donald Trump initially expressed support for Kurdish involvement, he later retracted that stance on Saturday.
“The Kurds must not be the tip of the spear in this conflict,” Axios quoted a senior official from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northeastern Iraq as saying.
The KRG official noted that Iraqi Kurds are “staying neutral” because there is “no clarity” regarding whether Washington intends to pursue a total regime change in Iran or merely a “change in personnel.” While Trump has indicated the US will play a role in determining Iran’s future leadership, he has not provided details on how that would be achieved.
Axios reported that Kurdish regional forces doubt that regime change is feasible without a US ground invasion, and they do not anticipate the US committing troops to such an operation.
The KRG official also stated that Israel has been significantly more aggressive in the conflict and in its efforts to “push Iranian Kurds” to participate.
“In the past, two major uprisings were not supported” by the US, the outlet noted, citing Amir Karimi, co-chair of the Kurdistan Free Life Party, which is the Iranian branch of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party. Despite widespread Western-backed protests in Iran during 2022-2023 and earlier this year, the leadership in Tehran remained in power.
Axios cited another Kurdish official who explained that the Kurds are holding back partly due to fears of being abandoned by the US once again. “We have trust issues from the past,” he said, highlighting concerns regarding potential retaliation from Tehran.
During the Syrian civil war, regional Kurdish forces acted as the primary US proxy against the Islamic State. That conflict concluded with the removal of Bashar Assad by Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former militant leader with ties to Al-Qaeda.
The subsequent rapprochement between the US and the new Damascus government has left the Kurds without military backing during several violent confrontations with the new regime’s forces.