Under threat, Iraqi Kurds resist pressure to join Iran war

Source: Axios

Updated 8 hours ago


Iraq's Kurds are caught in a three-way vise as the Iran war spills across their border:

They're uncertain, based on President Trump's messaging, whether the U.S. actually wants regime change next door.

They're under pressure to open the border from Iranian Kurds who want to fight the regime.

And they're facing a public threat — backed by a private warning — that Iran will retaliate if those militants attack from Iraqi Kurdish soil.

Why it matters: The Kurds of northern Iraq have carved out a stable, semi-autonomous region in one of the world's most volatile neighborhoods. Now, the war next door is threatening to make their neutrality impossible to hold.

"The Kurds must not be the tip of the spear in this conflict," a senior Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) official told Axios.

Zoom in: Iraq's Kurdish government prides itself on talking to all sides. But Iran changed its otherwise friendly tone Friday in a stark communique about Iranian Kurdish militants sheltering across the border.

Read more: https://www.axios.com/2026/03/07/iran-kurds-iraq-israel-trump-cia-mossad