✍ Daniel Bush BBC, Washington

🔻 According to four informed sources, the United States is planning to cut military assistance to one of its important allies in the Middle East; an ally that helped the U.S. defeat ISIS and is now facing heavy attacks from Iran.

The U.S. Department of Defense, in recent meetings with leaders of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, has told them that the U.S. government does not intend to extend the expiring agreement under which security assistance is provided to the Peshmerga, the Kurdistan security force.

BBC has spoken with two officials who took part in these talks and with two other sources who are directly informed about the matter.

Kurdish officials are concerned that cutting this funding will create a power vacuum and make Iran bolder; a country that, since the start of its attacks by the United States and Israel against it, has launched hundreds of missiles and drones toward Iraq’s Kurdistan Region.

Analysts say that ending security assistance to the Peshmerga would damage the long-standing relationship between the United States and one of its partners in Iraq, and would send a message to the United States’ allies in the region that Washington is not reliable and that its support cannot be counted on.

Yervan Saeed, director of the “Global Initiative of Kurds for Peace” at the American University, said: “America is sidelining the Kurds; Kurds who have paid a great deal of blood to help Americans achieve their goals in Iraq and the Middle East.” He added: “If the Kurds are left to this extent, it will be a major victory for Iran, China, and Russia.”

Continue in the link below: