ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region's Peshmerga minister confirmed to Rudaw on Sunday that a memorandum with the US-led coalition will expire on September 30, saying its key provisions have been implemented and rejecting suggestions that the expiry amounts to a sudden cutoff in support.
"Four years ago, at the Kurdistan Region Presidency, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the coalition. The four-year term ends in September, and all provisions within the memorandum have been fully implemented," Shoresh Ismail told Rudaw's Sangar Abdulrahman.
"Throughout the four years, there was full mutual commitment to the memorandum. One of the core provisions was the unification of the Peshmerga forces, which has been completely fulfilled, and currently, no Peshmerga forces remain outside the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs," he added.
Ismail said the expiration of the agreement should not be viewed as a sudden cutoff in aid, but rather as the conclusion of the memorandum's agreed term.
Citing four sources, the BBC reported on Friday that the US had informed Kurdish leaders in the Kurdistan Region that it is “planning” to halt military aid to the Peshmerga.
The United States and its coalition partners have provided financial, military and training assistance to the Peshmerga for years, particularly since the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) began in 2014.
The US Department of Defense and the Peshmerga ministry first signed a memorandum of understanding in 2016 to support the Kurdish forces and advance reforms, including efforts to bring Peshmerga units under the authority of the ministry. Subsequent agreements extended and updated the partnership.
The current memorandum is set to expire on September 30, coinciding with the scheduled end of the US-led coalition's military mission in federal Iraq under an agreement announced by Washington and Baghdad in 2024.
Several sources from the Peshmerga ministry told Rudaw on Saturday that the US had not informed the ministry of plans to halt financial assistance.
Another source within the ministry said, “The US has not indicated officially or informally whether they will renew the memorandum of understanding, but what is clear is that the MoU expires at the end of next month."
Last year, the United States allocated about $61 million in direct funding to the Peshmerga for weapons procurement, training and stipends in 2026.
However, the US War Department's proposed fiscal year 2027 budget provides approximately $118.9 million for Iraqi partner forces, including the defense ministry and counter-terrorism service, while proposing no direct funding for the Peshmerga.
Washington has backed the Peshmerga as a key partner in the fight against ISIS, while also pressing the Kurdistan Region's two main parties - the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) - to unify their historically party-affiliated forces under the Peshmerga ministry.
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