Trump Used Kurdish Leader as Secret IRGC Channel
Trump Used Kurdish Leader as Secret IRGC Channel
The News
The Trump administration ran a secret backchannel to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in May, using Kurdistan Regional Government President Nechirvan Barzani as the go-between, Axios reported Sunday, citing three sources with direct knowledge.
The reason: US negotiators trying to end the war with Iran could not tell whether the Iranians across the table actually spoke for the IRGC — the force that would have to live with any deal.
Barzani's call reached IRGC commander Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, who told him the Guard backed Iran's negotiators.
Why Barzani
The Kurdish leader had unusual standing for the job. Barzani lived in Iran during the 1980s Iran-Iraq War, studied at the University of Tehran, speaks fluent Farsi, and has personal relationships with members of the Revolutionary Guard.
The White House also had a practical problem no formal channel solved: Iran's elected government and its Guard do not always speak with one voice, and a deal signed by diplomats the IRGC disowned would not hold.
Timeline
US negotiators hit a wall, unsure whether Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi represented IRGC positions, according to Axios.
Then-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard called Barzani, with President Trump's approval, and asked him to find out where the Revolutionary Guard stood.
Barzani and Vahidi spoke by phone. "I fully support them, and this is also the position of the IRGC," Vahidi told him, per Axios.
A proposal for secret talks in Erbil collapsed over Iranian fears of Israeli intelligence operations in the area.
Iran announced no negotiations are underway and none are planned, though it keeps contact with mediators Qatar and Pakistan.
Reactions
Brett McGurk, the former National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East, argued the mediators were never the obstacle — Iran's demands over the Strait of Hormuz are, according to the reporting.
Trump has said he will keep negotiations "low key" while increasing economic pressure on Tehran.
The Jerusalem Post reported that the White House asked Barzani whether the IRGC had any additional demands during the May peace talks. The Times of Israel, reporting on the same Axios story, noted Iran has set a $30,000 bounty for US soldiers.
Coverage across outlets agrees on the underlying facts. The split is over what the episode means: pragmatic problem-solving, or proof that formal US-Iran diplomacy does not reach the people who actually decide.
What's Next
Barzani recently told the White House he is willing to try to restart direct talks with Iran, per Axios.
Two questions hang over any restart: whether the IRGC's May support for negotiations still holds after the talks collapsed, and what Iran would demand to return to the table — with Hormuz at the center.
Meanwhile the administration's stated posture is more economic pressure, not more public diplomacy.
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