Trump asks the Kurds to assist the U.S. in actions against Iran

According to a report in the U.S. newspaper The Washington Post on the 5th, U.S. President Trump asked the Kurds to help the United States in actions in Iran and said it would provide support, including air cover. The report, citing multiple people familiar with the matter, said that in a phone call this week with Kurdish leaders in Iran and Iraq, Trump said it would provide “broad U.S. air cover” and other support to help “anti-government Iranian Kurds seize parts of western Iran.” The report said that a senior official of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan in Iraqi Kurdistan stated that on the 1st of this month, when Trump spoke by phone with leaders of the group, Trump asked Iraqi Kurdistan to provide for “Iranian Kurdish armed groups in Iraq to open roads.” Also, according to a report by the U.S. news website Axios, officials including those from the United States and Israel revealed that armed personnel from multiple Kurdish armed factions in Iran are preparing for a possible ground offensive in Iran’s northwest. The report said these armed personnel received support from Israeli and U.S. intelligence agencies. The report said that on the 1st, Trump spoke by phone with the leaders of Iraqi Kurdistan, Barzani and Talabani, to discuss the conflict and future direction, but both Barzani and Talabani “expressed reservations about participating in any ground operation against Iran.” U.S. White House press secretary Leavitt confirmed on the 4th that Trump had spoken by phone with Kurdish leaders, saying the topics discussed “relate to our bases in northern Iraq,” and denied claims that Trump agreed to a plan to arm the Kurds to attack Iran. (Xinhua)