US allegedly armed Iranian dissidents via Kurdish forces, claims disputed by Kurdish groups

US President Donald Trump has made comments suggesting that the United States attempted to covertly arm Iranian protesters through Kurdish intermediaries weeks before the current conflict began. According to Fox News, Trump stated that “we sent guns to the protesters, a lot of them” and believed that the Kurds kept the guns for themselves.

The comments come amid ongoing tensions between the US and Iran, which escalated on February 28 with the launch of a war on Iran by the US and Israel. The protests in January, which were one of the largest in decades, were triggered by economic concerns following decades of US sanctions.

During the protests, media reports claimed that demonstrators were being armed by “foreign” actors. Trump also stated that Iran “slaughtered” 45,000 civilians, although this claim has not been independently verified.

Iranian authorities have reported 3,117 deaths during the protests, while human rights groups estimate a higher death toll. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has reported 6,872 deaths and is investigating additional cases.

Several Iranian Kurdish opposition groups have denied Trump’s claim of receiving arms from the US, stating that they obtained their own weapons through other means. A senior official from the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran said that “those statements made are baseless” and that the group has not received any recent arms.

The US has been in talks with opposition Kurdish forces in an effort to arm them and foment an uprising in Iran. The Kurds have a long history of opposing Tehran and carrying out attacks in Iran’s Kurdistan province.

Source: Al Jazeera