‘Don’t Make Our Mistakes’: Syrian Kurds Warn Iranian Kin Against Alliance with US

QAMISHLI, Syria — Kurdish leaders and residents in northeastern Syria have issued a stark warning to their Iranian counterparts: do not repeat our fate by aligning with the United States against the government in Tehran. Drawing on their own recent experience of being “abandoned” by Washington, Syrian Kurds are urging caution as reports emerge of US discussions with Iranian Kurdish opposition groups .

According to a Reuters report, as well as subsequent reporting by Dawn and other outlets, the warnings come amid intensified US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran. In recent days, Iranian Kurdish militias based in northern Iraq have reportedly consulted with the United States about launching attacks on security forces in western Iran . However, for Kurds in Syria who fought alongside the US for over a decade, this potential alliance evokes a painful sense of déjà vu.

A ‘Bitter Experience’ of Abandonment

Syrian Kurdish forces, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), were the Pentagon’s primary partner on the ground in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) group. With US backing, they established a semi-autonomous administration in territory captured from the militants in northeastern Syria .

That partnership, however, came to an abrupt end earlier this year. Following a sweeping offensive by Syria’s new army under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Kurdish-held areas were captured. Kurdish leaders appealed to Washington for intervention but felt betrayed when the US instead urged them to integrate with Syrian government forces . As Al Jazeera reported, the US message was that the partnership had “expired,” a signal many Kurds interpreted as Washington siding with Damascus at their most vulnerable moment .

This history has left deep scars. “I hope that the Kurds of Iran will not ally themselves with America, because they will abandon them,” Saad Ali, a 45-year-old resident of the northeastern Syrian Kurdish town of Qamishli, told Reuters . “Tomorrow, if an agreement is made between them (the US) and the Iranians, they will eliminate you. Do not make our mistakes.”

‘Extreme Caution’ and the Search for Guarantees

Syrian Kurdish political figures are advising Iranian Kurds to proceed with extreme skepticism. Ahmad Barakat, head of the Kurdish Progressive Democratic Party in Syria, said that while the decision is ultimately theirs, “accepting the invitation of the United States and being considered the spearhead in confronting or weakening the Iranian regime is not, at present, in the best interest of the Kurds of Iran” .

The sentiment is echoed on the streets of Qamishli. Amjad Kardo, a 26-year-old Syrian Kurd, emphasized the need for concrete assurances. “In my opinion, the Kurds in Iran should maintain a firm stance: they will not engage in any wars within Iranian territory without firm, signed guarantees from the United States regarding the future of these Kurdish regions in Iran” .

According to a Reuters source, Iranian Kurdish leaders are acutely aware of this risk and have reportedly expressed concerns about being “betrayed” like their Syrian counterparts. They have sought guarantees from the US, though the nature of these requests remains unclear .

Trump’s Shifting Signals and the ‘Kurdish Card’

The US position on Kurdish involvement has been ambiguous and shifting. President Donald Trump initially suggested on March 5 that it would be “wonderful” if Kurdish forces crossed into Iran from northern Iraq, though he declined to say if they would receive US air support . However, just days later, on March 7, Trump reversed course, telling reporters he had advised Kurdish groups not to enter the war. “We don’t want to make the war any more complex than it already is,” he said, adding, “I don’t want to see the Kurds get hurt, get killed” .

Analysts suggest the administration is playing a risky “Kurdish card” to open a new front against Iran without committing US ground troops. According to Newsweek, the CIA had begun supporting Kurdish groups months before the current conflict in an effort to stir unrest in Iran . Several Iranian Kurdish opposition groups, including the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI) and the Komala Party, have since formed a coalition with the stated goal of “liberating” Kurdish areas in Iran .

Regional Implications and Kurdish Calculations

The stakes for the broader Kurdish population are immense. As an ethnic group spread across Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria, Kurds have long seen their aspirations for autonomy go unfulfilled. The experience of Syrian Kurds has now become a cautionary tale .

Kamal Chomani, a fellow at the Kurdish Peace Institute, told Newsweek that any cooperation with the US or Israel would require clearer political guarantees than in the past, precisely because of “recent developments in Syria” . Diliman Abdulkader of American Friends of Kurdistan added that Iranian Kurds studied the Syrian situation closely. “They want to make sure they, too, are not thrown under the bus by the West when the dust is settled,” he said. Their primary goal, he noted, is to liberate their own historical lands, not to march on Tehran on behalf of foreign powers .

The potential fallout is not lost on other actors in the region. Xinhua reports that Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government has denied any involvement in plans to send fighters into Iran, fearing retaliation . Iran has already responded with military force, with its Revolutionary Guard launching missile and drone strikes against what it describes as “separatist group” positions in Iraq’s Kurdistan region .

As the conflict widens, the message from Qamishli serves as a sobering reminder for Kurds across the border in Iran: in the geopolitical games of great powers, local allies can quickly go from being a strategic asset to an expendable liability.

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