Donald Trump accuses Kurdish militants of keeping weapons sent to protesters: “I will remember”
American President Donald Trump declared, on Thursday, that he was disappointed with the Kurdish groups, whom he accuses of keeping the weapons sent by Washington to the protesters in Iran.
Donald Trump accuses the Kurdish groups of having tricked him PHOTO AFP
“Actually, to be honest, I sent weapons to the Kurds and I was very disappointed with the Kurds. The Kurds betrayed us. I think they kept their weapons to themselves. It's a shame, but I'll keep it in mind. I'll keep it in mind.”said Donald Trump in an interview for Fox News.
Trump first said in April that the United States had sent weapons to protesters during anti-government protests in Iran in January, weapons supplied through Kurdish groups.
“We sent some weapons, but the group that was supposed to distribute them—as I said would happen, I told my people, I anticipated exactly—we sent them weapons, many weapons. They had to get to the people so they could fight back against these brutes.”Trump said then.
“Do you know what happened?”he continued. “The people they were sent to kept them, because they said, 'What a nice gun, I think I'll keep it.' So I'm very angry with a certain group of people, and they're going to pay a big price for it.”
The Kurds are one of the most numerous ethnic groups in the world that do not have their own state. Their number is estimated between 30 and 40 million people, most of them living in the mountainous areas on the borders of Armenia, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey. Over time, the Kurds have been involved in political and military conflicts in the region.
In Iran, Kurdish areas have a long history of resistance to central authority, dating back to the 1979 revolution. Kurdish regions were also involved in the 2022 protests sparked by the death in police custody of Kurdish teenager Mahsa Amini. New anti-government protests that broke out in late 2025 resulted in thousands of deaths in January 2026.
According to information that appeared in March this year, Kurdish militants, who have their bases across the border in Iraq, had begun an offensive in northwestern Iran. At the time, the CIA was considering plans to arm Kurdish forces with the goal of provoking a popular uprising.
Also then, Donald Trump talked with the leaders of some Kurdish militant groups in Iraq about the situation in Iran, information confirmed by the spokeswoman of the White House, Karoline Leavitt.
“The president spoke with Kurdish leaders about our base in northern Iraq”she affirmed, but denied that a concrete plan had been agreed upon.
