Iraqi Kurds have decided to maintain neutrality in the conflict surrounding Iran, as they do not trust the United States and fear being left without support in the event of escalation. This was reported by Axios, citing representatives of the Kurdistan regional government.
According to them, the main reason for their cautious position is the lack of clarity in Washington's policy. Kurdish leaders do not understand whether the U.S. intends to pursue regime change in Iran and whether it is ready to support allies in the long term.
"Certainly, we, the Iraqi Kurds, maintain neutrality because there is no clarity regarding U.S. policy. Is it a complete regime change? Or just a change of personnel?" said a representative of the Kurdistan government.
Kurdish authorities believe that real regime change is impossible without military presence on the ground. At the same time, they see no signs that the U.S. is ready to send troops.
Distrust of Washington is also linked to past experiences. Kurdish leaders fear that the U.S. may change its position and leave the region unprotected.
"We have trust issues that arose in the past, and we do not want to get involved in this. Who will protect us if the Iranian regime ultimately survives?" representatives of the Kurdish leadership stated.
The situation is complicated by pressure from Iran. Tehran warned the authorities of Iraqi Kurdistan that it would strike the region if Iranian Kurdish groups use its territory for attacks.
"If their further presence and conspiracies are allowed, or if these groups or elements of the (Zionist) regime penetrate the territory of the Islamic Republic through the region, all facilities in the Kurdistan region of Iraq... will be subjected to massive attacks," said a statement from Iranian Defense Council representative Ali Akbar Ahmadian.
After the publication of this statement, Iranian officials contacted the leadership of Kurdistan to emphasize the seriousness of the warning.
Kurdish authorities acknowledge that the region is practically unprotected from such attacks.
"They do not need hypersonic missiles to harm us. 200 Shahed drones can cause significant damage here. We have no air defense systems. We have no means to shoot these devices down," said a representative of the regional government.
At the same time, the Kurds are under pressure from Iranian Kurdish armed groups. They demand to open the border to begin fighting against the Iranian authorities. However, the Peshmerga forces are currently preventing their attempts to use the territory of Iraqi Kurdistan for attacks.
Kurdish officials believe that these formations do not have sufficient resources for a serious operation against Iran. In their assessment, they lack numbers, training, and armament.
Kurdish authorities also note the differences between the approaches of the U.S. and Israel.
"Israel is much more aggressive on this issue, both militarily and in terms of coercing Iranian Kurds... to participate in this war," said one official.
At the same time, according to Kurdish representatives, Washington may limit itself to narrower goals related to weakening Iran's military capabilities.
"The Iranians have thousands of years of accumulated patience behind them. They know that in a couple of years there may be a new president in the United States, and who knows what will happen in Israel. Their goal now is to survive this," said one Kurdish official.
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