DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Iraqi First Lady Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed on Thursday issued a statement titled “Leave the Kurds alone. We are not guns for hire” in which she cited past examples of Kurds being “abandoned when priorities changed” in Iraq and Rojava (northeast Syria).

“It is very difficult, indeed impossible, for Kurds to accept being treated as pawns by the world's superpowers,” she said, coming amid contested reports of US-Israeli ambitions to arm Kurdish opposition fighters against the Iranian government.

The release of her letter was followed by Reuters publishing an interview with US President Donald Trump in which he said that he supports Kurdish opposition groups launching an offensive into Iran, saying, "I think it’s wonderful that they want to do that."

In the statement released by the office of the first lady, Ahmed, herself a Kurd, recalled the 1991 Kurdish uprising against the regime of Saddam Hussein, saying Kurds were encouraged to rise up but later left without support when the regime used helicopter gunships and tanks to crush the revolt.

She said those events remain deeply remembered among Kurds and are commemorated as “Raparin.”

Ahmed also referenced developments in Rojava, where Kurdish-led forces that fought on the front lines against the Islamic State (ISIS) were left stranded by Western allies in January when the Syrian government launched a military offensive against the Rojava administration.

"Today, the Kurds of Iraq have finally tasted a measure of stability and dignity in life. Because of this, it's very difficult, indeed impossible, for Kurds to accept being treated as pawns by the world's superpowers."

“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.”

Multiple sources told The New Region that neither Iranian Kurdish opposition groups nor people from the Kurdistan Region have launched a ground offensive into Iran, despite widespread media reports suggesting such an operation had begun from the western border.

The reports gained traction after journalists cited unnamed US officials claiming that Kurdish-Iranian militias had initiated or were preparing to launch a ground assault.

However, Kurdish opposition groups quickly denied the claims. Sources from the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), the Komala party, and the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) all said no military operations had been carried out by Kurdish forces against Iran.

Officials from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) also rejected the reports, calling them “false” and “fake news,” with Aziz Ahmed, deputy chief of staff to Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, stating that “not a single Iraqi Kurd has crossed the border.”