Sky News has obtained detailed insight into phone calls between US President Donald Trump and Iraqi Kurdish leaders in northern Iraq at the start of the war last weekend.
There has been much speculation about the calls and their content, which has led to rumors and claims about the Kurds launching a ground operation into Iran.
Mr Trump did not ask Kurdish armed groups based in Iraqi Kurdistan to launch a ground offensive, Sky News can reveal. Iran When he talks to political leaders on the phone, and there is currently no covert CIA operation to mobilize groups.
My source, a high-ranking and trusted member of the Iraqi Kurdistan political elite, has intimate knowledge of the details of the phone call between them. Mr. Trump and Bafel Talabani – head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
Iran War Latest: Follow Live
The person spoke to me on condition of anonymity and said the phone call between the two took place last weekend when the war broke out and lasted about 10 minutes.
In the call, the US president thanked Mr. Talabani and the Kurdish forces for helping the American military in northern Iraq and Syria over the years.
“Mr. Trump was phoning to express his thanks and the need for his (Mr. Talabani’s) intelligence, experience and relationships in the region.”
“He didn’t ask for anything, he didn’t suggest attacking anywhere, and he didn’t discuss weapons or the CIA in any way,” the source added.
The new information comes amid reports that Mr Trump is pressuring Kurdish leaders to cross the border and reports of active CIA involvement in the scheme on the ground. Sources said that is a complete lie, it did not happen.
Read more:
What was the strategy behind the US and Israel attacks?
Sky News speaks to the son of an expatriate who died in the UAE
He also confirmed that Mr Trump had a brief phone call with Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani.
“Again, President Trump didn’t hear anything, it was a very brief call,” he said.
He said: “There were only these two phone calls to Kurdish leaders here.”
The source is believed to have been granted permission to speak to Sky News to counter claims in the American media that the Trump administration has asked the Kurds to launch a ground offensive in Iran with the help of the CIA to create a popular uprising.
This was not covered in the phone call and Mr. Talabani did not get that impression, the source told me.
Raised as a refugee in Croydon, south London, Buffel Talabani is the son of former Iraqi president Jalal Talabani. He is famous in the Middle East for maintaining good relations with all the major players.
“If they talk one way, they always talk the other,” the source said.
“His overriding conviction is to protect Kurdistan and its people – that’s all.”
Iranian Kurdish groups in exile in Iraqi Kurdistan have told Sky News in recent days that they welcome an invasion of Iran to enact regime change and are actively hoping for US military support if they cross the border.
But the source said it would be “suicide” for Iranian Kurds to cross the border without specific American assurances and support.
As things stand, there is nothing to indicate that any kind of firm agreement or plan has been made, he said.
But as this battle evolves day by day, that can of course change.
