ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Several Iranian Kurdish opposition groups on Sunday denied reports that the United States had armed them during the country’s nationwide anti-government protests, as threats from US President Donald Trump against Iran continue in the ongoing war.
Mohammed Nazif Qaderi, a senior official from the opposition Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), told Rudaw that “those statements made are baseless and we haven't received any weapons. The weapons we have are from 47 years ago, and we obtained them on the Islamic Republic's battlefield, and we bought some from the market."
"Our policy is not to make demonstrations violent and use harsh methods, rather we believe we must make our demands in a peaceful and civil manner without weapons,” Qaderi said.
The denial comes after Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst said that, following the country’s deadly anti-government protests in January, “President Trump told me the United States sent guns to the Iranian protestors. He told me we sent them a lot of guns. We sent them to the Kurds. And the president says he thinks the Kurds kept them. He went on to say we sent guns to the protestors, a lot of them.”
Kako Aliyar, a member of the leadership committee of the Kurdish Iranian opposition party Komala, told Rudaw that "as our own party, no weapons have come to us and we haven't received anything, we're not even aware of the matter. Previously, this matter was never discussed, and we haven't talked to anyone about it.”
The war between the US and Israel on one side and Iran on the other, which began on February 28, continues, with Iran restricting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, affecting the global economy. Trump on Sunday wrote on his Truth Social platform that the US could target Iranian power plants and bridges. “Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell,” he said. In a follow-up post, he added, “Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time!” without providing further details.
Ahead of the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, Kurdish opposition parties announced a new political alliance to unify efforts against the Islamic Republic and advance Kurdish self-determination.
In early March, the parties similarly rejected reports by some international media outlets claiming their forces had crossed into Iran to fight Tehran. Around the same time, a Fox News report cited an unnamed US official alleging that “thousands of Iraqi Kurds” had launched a ground offensive into Iran.
At the time, Trump said that a potential ground offensive by Kurdish forces against the Iranian government would be a “wonderful” idea.
Amjad Hussein Panahi, head of communications for Komala of the Toilers of Kurdistan, also told Rudaw, “We assure you we haven't received a single bullet or weapon from any country or place, and we're not aware of the existence of such a thing; what we have is our own.”
Hamno Naqshbandi, a member of the general command of the Kurdistan National Army affiliated with the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), said that “Donald Trump's message is unclear to us. What is there is that we as our army have in no way received weapons from the US or any other country, not even a single bullet."
The alliance brought together six Kurdish parties: the KDPI, the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), the PAK, the Komala of the Toilers of Kurdistan, the Organization of Iranian Kurdistan Struggle (Khabat), and the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan.
Solin Hamadamin contributed to this report from Erbil.