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By Ioanna Theou
President Trump criticized Kurdish actors of Syria and Iraq for failing to meet US expectations in cooperation with American-backed operations against Iran. More specifically, President Trump made statements in the White House pointing that he is very ‘’disappointed’’ with the Kurdish groups, accusing them of ‘’take, take, take’’ while not cooperating efficiently with the American army.
While these statements were not specific for a certain Kurdish group, they are widely interpreted as referring to Iranian Kurdish groups and armed Kurdish groups of Iraq and Syria. According to Trump, the United States provided support to these Kurdish groups, including military assistance, weapons, or operational backing towards the fight of ISIS. However, Trump seems disappointed because he insists that the Kurdish groups did not fulfill their side of the cooperation.
But what if the exact opposite is happening? Why should the Kurds help the US? US and Israel may be encouraging Kurdish armed groups to play a role against Iran, especially in areas of Iran with Kurdish populations and due to their fighting capabilities. Let’s not forget the importance of the Kurdish factor in the fight of ISIS.
This time though, the Kurds seem to be more careful about their cooperation with the US and Israel. The Kurds have often been used by US in regional conflicts such as during the Syrian civil war with the terrorist jihadi armed groups. Of course the Kurdish-US cooperation was unsuccessful, because the US abandoned their promises for an independent Kurdish state and supported Turkey in the military operations against the Kurdish armed groups of Syria.
It seems that Kurds are encouraged again to act against Iran this time, history suggests they may not be fully supported at a later day by their so called American “allies”, and could face serious consequences once again. This time, the Kurdish groups seem less interested to participate in a war, especially without clear guarantees or concrete evidence of what their contribution would achieve. It appears that they do not forget the mistakes of the past.
Resources
Middle East Eye staff. ‘’Trump Says he’s ’Very Disappointed’ with Kurds Who ‘Just Take, Take, Take’, Middle East Eye,12 May 2026, https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/trump-says-hes-very-disappointed-kurds-who-just-take-take-take
Mansour, Mohammad. ‘’While US encourages Kurds to Attack Iran, History Serves Darker Warning, ‘’. Al Jazeera, March 5, 2026.
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2026/3/5/while-us-encourages-kurds-to-attack-iran-history-serves-darker-warning
Palani, Kamaran. ‘’US Abandoning the SDF Has Impacted Kurds across the Region.’’ Al Jazeera, February 3, 2026.
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2026/2/3/us-abandoning-the-sdf-has-impacted-kurds-across-the-region
Carpenter, Ted Galen. ‘’Yes, Donal Trump Dumped the Kurds (and We Should not be Shocked)’’. Cato Institute, October 8, 2019.
https://www.cato.org/commentary/yes-donald-trump-dumped-kurds-we-should-not-be-shocked
Darwisheh, Housam. ‘’The Rise of the Kurds in the Syrian Conflict’’, IDE-JETRO, October 2017.
https://www.ide.go.jp/Japanese/IDEsquare/Eyes/2017/ISQ201720_005.html