Trump: I don’t want the Kurds to go into Iran, the war is complicated enough as is

US President Donald Trump says he doesn’t want Kurdish fighters from Iraq to join the war against Iran, after previously expressing support for the idea.

“I don’t want the Kurds to go into Iran… They’re willing to go in, but I’ve told them I don’t want them to go in… The war is complicated enough as it is… We don’t want to see the Kurds get hurt or killed,” Trump tells reporters aboard Air Force One after attending the return of the bodies of the first six American soldiers killed in the conflict with Iran.

On Thursday, Trump had said he’s welcome Kurdish involvement, saying: “I think it’s wonderful that they want to do that, I’d be all for it.” He was also reported to have discussed the possibility with Kurdish leaders.

When asked if the US would provide or had offered air cover, he responds, “I can’t tell you that,” but adds that the objective for the Kurds would be “to win.”

“If they’re going to do that, that’s good,” Trump adds.

He says he thinks Iran was behind the strike on a girls’ elementary school in southern Iran that reportedly killed 150 people. Internal US analyses are said to have found that the strike was likely an American one.

Trump also dismisses reports that Russia has been providing Iran intelligence in the war, asserting that there are no indications that Moscow is supporting Tehran.

He reiterates that the US is not interested in reaching a settlement with Iran and that he wants to pick who the next leader will be to ensure that they are not going to lead the country into war.

Trump says the war “will continue for a while longer,” declining to provide a timeline, after his press secretary said yesterday that it would likely last four to six weeks.

He separately expresses on Truth Social his disgust with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, claiming the latter is “finally giving serious thought to sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East.”

“That’s OK, Prime Minister Starmer, we don’t need them any longer — But we will remember. We don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won!” Trump writes.

Asked about the potential deployment of US ground troops in Iran, Trump declines to offer a definitive answer.

“Could there be? Possibly… [It would] have to be for a very good reason,” Trump says.

As for the remaining stockpiles of enriched uranium still in Iran, Trump says the US is not currently focused on recovering it but could at some point.

“It’s something we could do later on,” he adds.