Sunday, March 8, 2026

Trump calls Kurdish leaders amid plan to arm major ethnic group against Iranian regime

Crucial territories along the Iran-Iraq border are dominated by Kurdish troops in northern Iraq.

• March 3, 2026
U.S. President Donald
U.S. President Donald Trump [Credit: BBC]

President of the United States of America, Donald Trump has reached out to Kurdish leaders in Iraq for cooperation over the ongoing U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran.

According to an Iranian newspaper, IraqiNews which cited Axios, Mr Trump who spoke on the phone with the top Iraqi Kurdish politicians on Sunday, discussed the current US-Israeli military operation against Iran and possible future actions.

Sources privy to the discussions included Masoud Barzani, chairman of the Masoud Barzani Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and Bafel Talabani, leader of the Bafel Talabani Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

The conversations took place after Mr Trump approved a significant bombing campaign against Iranian targets as part of a larger confrontation involving numerous regional powers. 

Crucial territories along the Iran-Iraq border are dominated by Kurdish troops in northern Iraq.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has called on its citizens to immediately leave Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries over the ongoing conflict with Iran.

“The @SecRubio @StateDept urges Americans to DEPART NOW from the countries below using available commercial transportation, due to serious safety risks.

“Americans who need State Department assistance arranging to depart via commercial means, CALL US 24/7 at +1-202-501-4444 (from abroad) and +1-888-407-4747 (from the U.S. and Canada),” the U.S. assistant secretary Mora Namdar said in an X post Monday.

Other Middle Eastern countries the State Department urged Americans to leave immediately are Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Syria, and Yemen.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has fired several missiles at U.S. bases in Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, after the U.S. and Israel launched deadly airstrikes on Iran, killing the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and some of his regime officials.

At least 40 members of Mr Khamenei’s regime were killed in airstrikes over the weekend.

Mr Trump said the current armed conflict with Iran could run for four weeks.

“From the outset, it was assumed that it would take about four weeks,” Mr Trump said in a telephone interview with the British newspaper Daily Mail on Sunday. “It’s a big country; it’ll take four weeks—or less.”

Three U.S. soldiers have been killed and five others sustained injuries during U.S. military operation against Iran.

Iran’s counterattacks have also hit U.S. military bases in the Gulf region.

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