The first lady of Iraq’s Kurdistan region said on Thursday that Kurds should not be used in conflicts among global powers after U.S. media reports suggested Washington could support Kurdish groups in a possible uprising against Iran.
Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed made the remarks after reports in U.S. media outlets, including CNN, said the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency was considering supplying weapons to Kurdish fighters as part of efforts to encourage unrest in Iran’s western regions.
The reports said Washington had been in contact with Iranian Kurdish groups as well as leaders in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region about potentially opening a new front against Tehran.
Ahmed rejected the idea that Kurds should be drawn into such conflicts.
“It is very difficult, indeed impossible, for Kurds to accept being treated as pawns by the world’s superpowers,” she said in a statement.
“Too often, the Kurds are remembered only when their strength or sacrifice is needed,” she said, appealing to all sides involved in the conflict to “leave the Kurds alone.”
“We are not guns for hire.”
She referred to the 1991 Kurdish uprising against former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, when Kurds were encouraged to rebel but later faced a military crackdown.
Ahmed said Iraqi forces at the time suppressed the uprising using helicopters and tanks, adding that the events remain deeply remembered among Kurds as “Raparîn”.
She also pointed to Kurdish forces’ role in fighting Islamic State militants in Syria, particularly in the Kurdish-administered region of Rojava, saying promises made to the Kurds during the conflict were not fulfilled.
Regional tensions involving Iran have increased in recent days amid confrontation involving the United States and Israel, with speculation that Iranian Kurdish armed groups could become involved.
However, Iraq’s government has said its territory will not be used to launch attacks against other countries.