Report
An Iraqi Kurdish political figure told +ontime that U.S. President Donald Trump held what the source described as “sensitive” phone calls with Masoud Barzani and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Bafel Talabani, citing what the source called leaked and confirmed reporting from diplomatic circles in Washington and Erbil.
According to the source, Trump delivered a blunt message to both leaders: neutrality is no longer an option. The White House, the source said, views itself as being in an open confrontation with Iran’s leadership and sees the Kurdistan Region as a strategic partner that cannot remain on the sidelines at what Trump reportedly framed as a historic moment.
The source said Trump’s conversation with Barzani centered on securing the Kurdistan Region’s long border with Iran and seeking guarantees that Kurdish territory would not be used as a safe haven for Iran-aligned factions seeking to maneuver around U.S. forces.
Trump’s call with Talabani was described as more pointed, given Sulaimaniyah’s geography and the PUK’s historically closer ties to Tehran. The source said Trump explicitly urged a strategic decoupling from Iran in return for U.S. guarantees to protect Sulaimaniyah and support the PUK’s influence within Iraq’s political equation.
The same source said Trump also raised the file of “Iranian Kurdistan,” including the possibility of supporting Kurdish opposition movements inside Iran, naming groups such as Komala and the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran. The source claimed Trump asked about these forces’ “readiness” to move in the event of internal collapse in Tehran, and encouraged Barzani and Talabani to play a mediating or coordinating role with those factions.
In exchange for cooperation, the source said Trump offered verbal assurances that included steps to strengthen the Kurdistan Region’s standing as a quasi-independent entity insulated from pressure from Baghdad, as well as major economic support through U.S. investment in the Kurdish oil and gas sector to offset potential losses from cutting ties with Iran. The source also cited security pledges, including the possible deployment of advanced air-defense systems in Erbil and Sulaimaniyah to protect the region from any Iranian missile retaliation.
On the Kurdish response, the source said Barzani remained cautious, emphasizing friendship with the United States while warning against dragging the Kurdistan Region into a destructive war, and calling for written international guarantees. Talabani, the source added, pointed to political complexities in Baghdad and within Kurdish politics, but showed flexibility in dealing with what he described as the new realities imposed by the White House.
