Amid the possibility of Kurdish forces being deployed to ground warfare in conjunction with the U.S…

Spotting Kurdish combat vehicle purchasesKurdish factions checking phone calls with TrumpSome moderates ‘distanced’

사진 확대 Toyota Land Cruiser LC71. [Captured Toyota homepage]

Amid the possibility of Kurdish forces being deployed to ground warfare in conjunction with the U.S. and Israeli military offensive against Iran, Kurdish militias have been caught buying large amounts of vehicles that can be used for combat.

According to CNN on the 5th (local time), a car dealership owner in Irbil, a city in Iraq’s Kurdish autonomous region, said Iranian-Kurdish militias purchased 50 Toyota Land Cruiser LC71 vehicles.

The purchase took place on the 3rd, the day before reports that the Kurds had joined hands with the US and Israeli governments to launch a ground attack operation targeting Iran.

Although the purpose of purchasing the vehicle has not been officially confirmed, the vehicle is known to be a four-wheel-drive model suitable for operation on rugged terrain. CNN noted the possibility of military use, noting that the Iraqi-Iran border is mountainous. CNN did not disclose the name of the militia that purchased the vehicle for the sake of the owner’s personal protection.

In this regard, there were reports that the Donald Trump administration of the United States promised support on the premise of participating in the ground war against Iran by contacting Kurdish factions one after another. Citing sources, the Washington Post (WP) reported that President Trump recently offered “full air support from the United States” to help anti-Iranian Iranian-Kurdish forces take control of western Iran in a call with Kurdish leaders.

사진 확대 Warriors from the Iranian-Kurdish Freedom Party (PAK) train at a base outside Irbil, Iraq, on the 12th of last month.[Reuters Yonhap News]

A senior official of the Kurdistan Patriotic Alliance (PUK), a major political party in Iraq’s Kurdish autonomous region, also told the WP, “The United States has asked the Iraqi Kurds to pave the way for Iranian-Kurdish groups gathering in Iraq and provide military support.”

In addition, in a phone call with PUK leader Bafel Talabani, President Trump is said to have clearly conveyed his position that the Kurds should choose whether to side with the United States and Israel or with Iran. Another major party, a senior official of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), also confirmed that President Trump called the party leader and delivered a message to the same effect.

However, there are concerns within Kurdish circles that they could be caught up in a proxy war between great powers. “Please leave the Kurds alone,” Iraqi first lady Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed said in a statement. “We are not hired gunmen.”

The Kurds, with a population of 30 to 40 million, are dispersed in Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria, and have long been persecuted and suppressed. The U.S. has a history of cooperating with Kurdish militias in the Middle East, but there have also been cases in which relations have faltered due to changes in the strategic situation.

“The Kurds in Iraq have finally achieved some stability and dignity in life,” Ahmed said, referring to this background. “We will not accept being treated as a long-term word by world powers.”

Meanwhile, Iraq’s Kurdistan Autonomous Government (KRG) has denied some reports that it plans to send Kurdish forces opposing the Iranian regime to the ground war against Iran. The local government said in a social media post that it “does not participate in any campaign to expand war and tension in the region.”