US seeks Kurdish ground offensive in Iran as Kurds reject 'pawn' role

As joint US-Israeli military operations against Iran accelerate, the Trump administration has embarked on a parallel diplomatic track seeking to draw Kurdish forces into the confrontation, according to reports from Axios, The Washington Post and The New York Times. President Donald Trump conducted extensive communications in early March 2026 with prominent Iraqi Kurdish leaders Masoud Barzani and Bafel Talabani, as well as Iranian Kurdish leader Mustafa Hijri, offering logistical support and comprehensive air cover to encourage a Kurdish ground campaign deep inside Iran.

Proxy war strategy

The overtures reflect a "proxy war" strategy designed to avoid US entanglement in a direct ground war that could cost American lives, especially after US fatalities in the opening days of the operation. Washington views the Peshmerga forces' combat experience and the strategic geographic location of Iraq's Kurdish region as a western gateway to Iran, while Iranian Kurdish groups stationed in rugged mountainous areas are seen as tools to weaken Tehran internally. Trump told Reuters: "I think it's a great idea if they want to do that, I'd be totally with it," in clear reference to Kurdish ground operations.

Kurdish rejection

The Kurdish response, however, has been notably cautious and resistant. Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed, wife of Iraq's President and aunt of PUK leader Bafel Talabani, articulated popular and official rejection in a decisive statement on X: "Today, the Kurds of Iraq have finally tasted a measure of stability and dignity in life. This is why it is very difficult, indeed impossible, for the Kurds to accept being treated as pawns by the world's great powers. The experiences are there. The empty promises are there... Leave the Kurds alone. We are not mercenaries."

Historical memory

The statement reflects collective Kurdish memory of betrayal—from the 1991 uprising to the sudden US withdrawal from Syria in 2019—and reinforces the official discourse of neutrality as the sole strategic option. Kurdish leaders recognize the magnitude of American pressure but lean toward "self-distancing" to avoid paying a heavy price in a conflict where the US stance could shift at any moment. The harsh lessons of history compel the Iraqi Kurdish region to adhere to strategic neutrality for survival, especially in the absence of genuine international guarantees and given Iran's reality as a permanent neighbor.

Iranian response

Tehran has responded violently to any perceived Kurdish involvement, vowing "decisive suppression" of separatist activities and launching missile strikes targeting opposition Kurdish camps in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, resulting in civilian casualties. The regime's fear of internal disintegration and exploitation of ethnic groups amid its current weakness drives this aggressive posture.

Iranian Kurdish dilemma

Iranian Kurdish leaders face a similar American temptation that could lead them to bear the burdens of a confrontation whose consequences they alone cannot manage. Bitter experience teaches that trusting American promises without tangible guarantees is a perilous existential adventure, given the fluctuations of US foreign policy, which does not hesitate to abandon allies when priorities change. The interest of the Kurdish people lies in strengthening internal unity and economic development, far removed from the gambles of external powers.