ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Last Saturday, US President Donald Trump ruled out Kurdish involvement in the war with Iran, saying that “we’re very friendly with the Kurds, as you know, but we don’t want to make the war any more complex than it already is.”

His remarks mark a stark shift from merely a few days prior, when the president told Reuters that it ​would be "wonderful" if Iranian Kurdish forces based in Iraq were to cross into Iran to launch attacks.

In the meantime, Iranian drone attacks continued on Iranian Kurdish parties, with a drone killing one member of the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan on Wednesday morning and large attacks on civilian facilities on the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) in Koya. 

On February 22, 2026, several major Iranian Kurdish political parties based in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq announced the formation of the Alliance of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan, which now includes six Kurdish parties, including the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), whose activities the Turkish Defense Ministry last week said it is closely monitoring.

The PJAK is affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which for decades waged a guerrilla campaign against Ankara for greater Kurdish rights before agreeing to disband itself and lay down arms in 2025.

Farzan Sabet, an Iran expert at the Geneva Graduate Institute, said it is possible that Turkey pressured the Trump administration not to support the Iranian Kurds.

In the past, Turkey was also opposed to US support granted to Syrian Kurdish factions fighting ISIS.

“I think Trump probably also faced a lot of resistance from Turkey. That said, they may now be considering it for the future,” Sabet said. 

“The Coalition [of Iranian Kurdish Parties] cares solely for Iranian Kurdistan, and is not involved with Bakur, Kurdistan of Turkey,” Babasheikh Hosseini, the Secretary-General of the Khabat Organization of Iranian Kurdistan, told The New Region.

“We have understandings that the Coalition is solely concerned with Iranian Kurdistan. Our platform and all the understandings do not carry anything like 'animosity against Turkey;' there is no discussion of Turkey that could make Turkey happy or unhappy.”

“We have issued a statement that 'within the borders of Iran, we struggle for democracy, freedom, and the rights of the Kurdish nation;’ again, within the framework of Iran.”

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has made clear its opposition to any cross-border offensive by the parties that were exiled to the Kurdistan Region since 1979.

KRG spokesperson Peshawa Hawramani earlier this week vehemently denied media reports suggesting Iraqi Kurds would support their Iranian kin in any such endeavor.

Delavar Ajgeiy, the KRG Representative to the European Union, on Wednesday also told the Dutch parliament that the KRG is not part of this conflict.

“The Kurdistan Region will not be part of the conflict, and for us, the priority will be to protect our people and also to have peace with our neighbors, and we will not allow any threat from our territories, which will be against any of our neighbors. This is our official position.”

Hosseini confirmed that the Iranian Kurdish parties are guests of the Kurdistan Region. “But when we want to go back to our home, who can stop us from doing so! Isn't that so?! Why would or could they stop us from going back home?”

“Since the Kurdistan Region [of Iraq] was officially established, the fighting between Iranian Kurdish parties against the Iranian regime has decreased. That was in consideration of the Kurdistan Region,” he said.

“Now that the situation has changed and that the regime is practicing its true brutal behavior, there is a possibility that Iranian Kurdish parties in the future — on a date that we do not know — [re-engage in the war], and the Kurdistan Regional Government is possibly not going to stop them from entering [into Rojhelat, Iranian Kurdistan].”

Voices from the Kurdish opposition

After Trump’s U-turn, Iranian Kurdish opposition parties say that they are now awaiting the right conditions to launch an uprising.

“What President Trump has said about the Kurds not going into Iran is maybe the right thing not to do right now. But in my opinion, this can probably change. In any case, the Kurds of Rojhelat are ready to fight and have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time,” Honia Azarbar, a member of the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, told The New Region.

“However, they will not enter Iran without support from the United States, greater clarity about the situation, and certain conditions being met. As the leader of the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, Mr. Abdullah Mohtadi, has stated: 'We will not send our forces to the slaughterhouse.' I believe none of the other Kurdish parties are interested in doing so either.”

“Therefore, the best thing would be waiting for the right timing. Hopefully that moment will come soon and lead to a successful outcome.”

Khalil Nadri, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), told The New Region that there is not much to talk about, only that they want to change the regime with minimal costs and that they are against any ceasefire between the US and Iran.

“Therefore, we are not concerned with the comment. We believe that if they [the US] want to topple the regime, they will need the Rojhelat Kurdistan Peshmerga forces, if not for the toppling — because the US is capable of that on their own — for the stability, peace, and the governance of the country.”

“We want to see the US action resulting in the change of the regime. Any outcome other than a regime change will signal that the Iranian regime has won the war. We are not worried about the fact that we have not engaged in the war, but we don't want that [Iranian regime winning] to be an outcome.”

Mustafa Mawloudi, deputy secretary general of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), said that “we [the Kurds] haven’t based our planning and strategies on Trump’s words. Much before Trump was in the White House, we had a history of fighting against the Islamic Republic, and we have lost fighters and leaders in that fight.”

“We would be keen to use the best out of the fact that the Islamic Republic has been weakened because of the current conflict. Regardless of the US’ intentions to continue or pause the current war, our cause against the Islamic Republic will endure; in all forms, including military, media, diplomacy, or otherwise.”

US-Kurdish joint interests

Ernie Audino, Brigadier General US Army (retired), a previous combat advisor embedded in Peshmerga forces, told The New Region that it is still possible that the United States will work with Iranian Kurds in the future.

“Because the Iranian Kurds and the USA still share important joint interests. As Saadi Shirazi said 700 years ago, “Joint interests make for the best of allies.”

“And here’s an example of where some of the interests coincide: The Iranian Kurdish resistance groups obviously have an interest in seizing the 4 Kurdish-populated provinces and securing them from the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] Land Forces and other regime security elements. The Americans, and the Israelis, and any of the Iranian protesters, for that matter, have an interest in destroying these same forces and denying sanctuary areas for any remaining regime forces.” 

The former Brigadier General also added that one cannot underestimate the psychological value of opponents of the regime seizing terrain from the regime.

“Localized battlefield successes embolden other opponents of the regime in other locations. It inspires them by showing that it is possible to defeat regime forces, that the regime is not invincible, especially if the opponents act in concert. The USA obviously shares that interest.”

Hosseini, the Secretary-General of the Khabat, also agreed that there are joint interests.

“The fact is that the US is currently fighting against the Iranian regime, and the same regime is our enemy as well; that's the meeting point [between Iranian Kurdish parties and the US],” he said.

“The Iranian regime is an enemy of democracy and freedom, and the regime has created problems for the US, Europe, and the rest of the world; that's the common understanding between the involved sides.”

Hosseini also doubted that the Trump administration would make a deal with the Iranian government.

“The regime should fall. From what I see, [everything will lead to the] toppling of the regime. There is no space for them to make a deal; it is too late,” Hosseini said. “They don't have anyone left. They don't have the force,” he added. “From my point of view, if the US was pushing for reconciliation, it would be a loss (for the United States).”

However, according to Kurdish analyst Halmat Palani, "the Kurdish offensive isn’t dead. Kurdish leaders are waiting for the right conditions. If the regime weakens enough, Iranian Kurdistan could be the first domino to fall."

Therefore, it remains to be seen what will happen. But in the meantime, Iran continues to attack Iranian Kurdish parties in the Kurdistan Region, clearly seeing them as a major threat.

“We take into consideration the situation in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq; and should the Islamic Republic continue to target our forces there, then naturally we would intervene to protect our people. If such a direction is taken, that would be a joint decision by the Kurdistan Coalition; parties alone cannot decide,” Mohammad Nazif Qadri, a member of the executive committee of the KDPI, said.

“We are monitoring the situation, and based on the next events, we remain ready to intervene for the sake of our people in Iranian Kurdistan,” he concluded.