Turkey warns against drawing Iran's Kurds into Middle East war

Turkey warns against drawing Iran's Kurds into Middle East war

From International report by RFI English

March 15, 2026 · 6 min

About this episode

Turkey warns against the involvement of Iran's Kurdish minority in the ongoing Middle East conflict, fearing it could destabilize its peace process with Kurdish militants.

The Turkish government is warning the United States and Israel against involving Iran’s Kurdish minority in the war against the Iranian regime. Home to millions of Kurds, Turkey fears any such move could destabilise its ongoing peace process with Kurdish militants calling for an autonomous state. Concentrated in north-western Iran along the borders with Turkey and Iraq , Kurds are estimated to make up 8 to 17 percent of Iran’s population. As the war in the Middle East continues, several international news agencies reported talks between US officials and armed Iranian Kurdish groups. Seeking to assuage Turkish concerns, President Donald Trump last weekend ruled out such a move. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan welcomed Washington's assurances, but warned the threat remained. "Israel’s intentions on this matter are no secret," he told reporters. "Israel has for years used Kurdish groups in the region as a proxy." Home to a large Kurdish minority, Turkey has fought a bitter war for decades against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is designated by Washington and the European Union as a terrorist organisation. Last year the PKK ended its armed struggle and committed to…

Topics covered

  • Turkey
  • Iran
  • Kurds
  • Middle East
  • US foreign policy

Keywords

  • Kurdish minority
  • Iranian regime
  • peace process
  • autonomous state

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Turkey, Iran, Middle East, the United States, Israel, Iraq, the Middle East, US, Washington, Syria

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