TEHRAN — Iran’s parliament speaker said on Tuesday that the United States had sought to use Iraq’s Kurdistan region to launch security and military operations against Iran during the 40-day war, but that cooperation from Iraqi Kurdish authorities and a rapid response by Iranian forces thwarted the plan.
Speaking during a meeting in Tehran with Bafel Talabani, leader of Iraq’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) here, Muhammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Washington had sought to exploit armed anti-Iran Kurdish groups based near the Iranian border.
“Americans hoped to carry out a security
 and military operation against Iran from the Kurdistan region of Iraq,” Ghalibaf said. “With the help of our friends in the region and the timely reaction of Iran’s armed forces, this enemy plot was defeated.”
The comments came as questions over U.S. contacts with Kurdish separatist groups have intensified since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
U.S. President Donald Trump has acknowledged that Washington supplied weapons intended for rioters in Iran through Kurdish channels. 
In an interview reported by Fox News, Trump said: “We sent guns to the protesters, a lot of them,” adding that he believed “the Kurds took the guns.” 
Reuters separately reported that Trump had said the United States had funneled weapons through Kurdish groups to protesters. Commanders of two major Kurdish separatist groups told Reuters their fighters had received no U.S. arms. 
The Trump administration has also been reported to have explored military cooperation with anti-Iran Kurdish groups operating from northern Iraq. Reuters reported in March that Kurdish separatists had discussed with U.S. officials whether they could attack Iranian security forces in western Iran, while U.S. and Israeli strikes were targeting Iran.
Ghalibaf described the malicious activity as part of a wider effort by Washington and Israel to create divisions between Iran and its neighbors, particularly Iraq.
“Americans and the Zionist regime are always seeking to create differences between neighbors, especially between Iran and Iraq,” he said, adding that Tehran and Baghdad should strengthen political, economic and security ties.
Talabani said the PUK had no intention of allowing Iraqi Kurdistan to become a base for attacks against Iran.
“We will not allow the Kurdistan region of Iraq to become a place for creating insecurity against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said.
He said the PUK is ready to implement the security agreement between Iran and Iraq and deepen political, economic and security cooperation.
Talabani also described Iran as a longstanding supporter of the Kurdistan region during periods of crisis.
“The Islamic Republic has always been our supporter and ally,” he said. “We consider your war and hardship our own war and hardship, and your victory our victory.”
Ghalibaf said the two sides should expand cooperation to prevent outside powers from exploiting tensions along the Iran-Iraq border.
The meeting followed a period in which Iraqi Kurdish authorities sought to prevent their territory from becoming a launchpad for the wider conflict. The Kurdistan Regional Government has said its territory should not be used as a staging ground for attacks against neighboring countries.