The US Department of Defense has informed leaders of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region that the administration will not renew an expiring agreement providing security assistance to the Peshmerga, the Kurdish security force. Four sources—including two officials who participated in the talks and two other sources with direct knowledge of the issue—confirmed the plans to the BBC. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the talks, details of which have not been previously reported.
Kurdish officials fear the funding cut would create a power vacuum and embolden Iran, which has fired hundreds of missiles and drones into Iraqi Kurdistan since US President Donald Trump initiated military action against Tehran.
Analysts warned that ending the Peshmerga's security assistance would undermine a longtime partner in the region and signal that the US cannot be trusted to back its allies.
"The US would be cutting off the Kurds, who shed so much blood to help the Americans achieve their goals in Iraq and the wider Middle East," said Yerevan Saeed, director of the Global Kurdish Initiative for Peace at American University. "This is going to be a big win for Iran, China, and Russia if the Kurds are left so exposed."