WASHINGTON (March 10, 2026) –The U.S. has been reaching out to leaders of Iran’s Kurdish population in an attempt to fight the Iranian government. However, Syria’s Kurds warned Iran’s Kurds about partnering with the U.S. after aligning with the U.S. more than a decade ago. Syrian Kurdish groups felt abandoned when the U.S. withdrew support. In 2026, this split allowed the new Syrian government to take control of the Northeast.
Although Iran’s Kurds do not have the military experience that other Kurdish populations in Iraq and Syria have, multiple unnamed sources say U.S. experts started training them in combat and weaponry.
For more analysis on these developments, please consider Amy Austin Holmes, Research Professor of International Affairs. In the fall of 2024, Holmes joined the Bush School of Government & Public Service in D.C. as a full-time faculty member. Previously, Holmes served as the Acting Director of the Foreign Area Officers Program at George Washington University. In 2024, she was awarded a Minerva-Decur research grant comparing territorial and maritime expansion by Turkey, Russia, and China.
To schedule an interview, please contact Nadia Payne at nadia [dot] payne
gwu [dot] edu (nadia[dot]payne[at]gwu[dot]edu) or GW media at gwmediagwu [dot] edu (gwmedia[at]gwu[dot]edu).
-GW-