President Trump personally spoke with leaders from Iraq‘s two main Kurdish factions, Masoud Barzani and Bafel Talabani, just one day after the bombing campaign against Iran began. These calls came after five Kurdish dissident groups quietly formed a military coalition to fight Iran, days before the war started.
According to Axios, the calls were described as “sensitive” by a source close to the situation, who could not share details of what was discussed. These conversations were the result of months of behind-the-scenes lobbying by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel has had close security, military, and intelligence ties with Kurdish groups across Syria, Iraq, and Iran for decades.
