PUK says Trump ‘clarified’ his objective on Iran war in call with party leader

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - US President Donald Trump explained the objective of Washington’s war against Iran in a phone call with Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Bafel Talabani, the party said on Tuesday.

Axios reported on Tuesday that Trump spoke by phone with Talabani and Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) President Masoud Barzani to discuss America’s joint war with Israel against Iran.

Talabani told a politburo meeting on Tuesday that Trump “clarified the objectives of the United States in the current war” with Iran, according to a PUK statement.

“In the [politburo] meeting, President Bafel noted that President Trump offered an opportunity to better understand US objectives and to discuss joint support for building a strong partnership between the United States and Iraq,” the statement added.

President Masoud Barzani has yet to confirm the phone call with Trump.

The PUK is the de facto ruler of Sulaimani and Halabja provinces, while the KDP controls Erbil and Duhok. All four provinces share borders with Iran, except for Duhok, which is Iraq’s only province that borders Turkey.

The White House has not confirmed the phone calls between Trump and the Kurdish politicians, but its spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, told Axios that Trump “has been in contact with many allies and partners in the region throughout the past several days.”

Rudaw has learned that Trump has also spoken by phone with Mustafa Hijri, leader of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), an Iranian Kurdish opposition party based in the Kurdistan Region. 

Updated at 9:02 pm