KRG rejects claims of role in alleged US plan to arm Iranian Kurdish opposition groups

ERBIL — The Kurdistan Regional Government denied reports alleging it is involved in plans to arm Iranian Kurdish opposition groups or send them into Iran, calling the claims “completely unfounded” — as Kurdish leaders across party lines united Thursday in pledging to keep the region out of the widening war.

KRG spokesperson Peshawa Hawramani said the Kurdistan Region is not participating in any effort to expand the conflict. “Reports that speak about a role of the Kurdistan Region and the allegations claiming that we are part of a plan to arm and send Kurdish opposition parties into Iranian territory are completely unfounded,” he said. “We categorically deny them and affirm that they are being published deliberately and maliciously.”

“The Kurdistan Regional Government and the political parties within it are not part of any campaign to expand the war and tensions in the region,” Hawramani added. “On the contrary, we call for peace and stability in the region.” He also condemned ongoing strikes on the region and called on the federal government and the international community “to intervene to stop these assaults and protect our land, our people, and our region.”

The denial came on a day when Kurdish leaders across the political spectrum delivered similar messages. KDP leader Masoud Barzani, in a statement marking the 35th anniversary of the 1991 uprising, said “we will do everything we can to ensure that Kurdistan remains distant from war, tragedy and suffering.” The KDP itself called it “an urgent duty for all sides to work for the stability of the Region” and demanded the federal government take “a clear stance” against militias launching attacks on Kurdish territory.

Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, a senior PUK figure, said the region “fully maintains its neutrality” but acknowledged it had entered “an abnormal situation” in which “the repercussions of the war have reached the Kurdistan Region beyond our will and intention.”

The statements follow American media reports about potential U.S. involvement with Iranian Kurdish opposition groups. In recent days, camps belonging to Iranian Kurdish opposition parties have been repeatedly struck by drones and missiles.

Kurdistan Region capital Erbil has been attacked by 100 projectiles by Iran-aligned Iraqi militias — attacks the KRG called “cowardly”. Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, in a call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, said the region “will not” allow to make it “part of conflicts.”