Iraq’s first lady urges US and Iran to “leave Kurds alone”

Iraq’s first lady, Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed, issued a strongly worded open letter on March 5 calling on all sides involved in the war with Iran to “leave the Kurds alone.”

According to CNN, the letter comes amid reports that the Central Intelligence Agency has been encouraging Iranian Kurdish fighters in Iraq to take action against Iran. It was also published after Iranian media on Wednesday described Iranian forces that had attacked them in Iraqi Kurdistan as “separatist terrorist groups.”

In her letter, Ahmed recalled how the United States urged Iraqi Kurds in 1991 to “rise up against the regime of Saddam Hussein,” but later left them “abandoned when priorities changed.”

Ahmed, who is of Kurdish origin, also pointed out that in January the United States ended its alliance with Kurdish forces in Syria after several years of close cooperation, a move that allowed the Syrian government to regain control over parts of territory previously held by Kurdish forces.

“Too often, the Kurds are remembered only when their strength or sacrifice is needed,” Ahmed wrote. “So I appeal to all parties involved in this conflict. Leave the Kurds alone. We are not guns for hire.”

Her letter is the latest statement by Kurdish leaders in Iraq, distancing themselves from reports about a CIA plan to involve Iranian Kurds in the conflict.

Earlier on Thursday, the Kurdistan Regional Government said it had “not participated in any campaign to incite war and escalate tensions in the region,” describing reports that Iraq was involved in a CIA plan to support an invasion as “completely unfounded.”

By Tamilla Hasanova