ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – US President Donald Trump sent Newroz congratulations to Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and the people of Kurdistan, describing it as a "yearly reminder of the strength found in new beginnings."

"Newroz marks the arrival of spring and symbolizes the enduring triumph of light over darkness," Trump wrote to the Kurdish leader in a letter revealed by the Kurdistan Region Presidency on Saturday.

“I pray that this Newroz becomes a source of strengthening the values of peace and human dignity, and that the new year be filled with goodness and joy,” the US president continued. 

Trump also extended congratulations to the people of Kurdistan and to all those celebrating the Kurdish New Year, ending his letter in Kurdish with “Newroz Piroz” (Happy Newroz).

The Kurdistan Region shares strong ties with the US. Washington has for years provided military aid and training to the Region’s Peshmerga forces. Washington opened its largest consular building across the world in Erbil in December at a cost of $800 million.

The message was delivered from Washington as the region has been caught in the crossfire of the regional conflict.

The Kurdistan Region has also come under near-daily attacks by pro-Iran militias, with Kurdish authorities repeatedly urging Baghdad to rein them in.

On Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a phone call with Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, offered his condolences for the Peshmerga killed and injured in an Iranian strike earlier this week.

An Iranian ballistic missile attack on the Peshmerga's bases in the Soran administration early Tuesday killed six Peshmerga and injured 30 others, the Peshmerga ministry announced, with Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani later saying that Iran informed Erbil that the base was targeted by mistake.

Washington strongly condemned the continued attacks “by Iran and Iran-aligned Iraqi terrorist militias against US citizens and energy infrastructure across Iraq,” Rubio said.