"I Think The Kurds Kept Them": Trump On US Guns Sent To Iran Protesters

President Donald Trump has said the United States supplied weapons to anti-regime protesters in Iran during the unrest. His remarks came as fighting and tensions continue in the Middle East region amid the broader war involving Tehran.

Speaking to Fox News correspondent Try Yingst, the US President described how the weapons were sent through Kurdish channels and suggested they may not have reached the protesters.

"We sent them a lot of guns. We sent them through the Kurds. And I think the Kurds kept them," Trump said.

"We sent guns to the protesters, a lot of them. And I think the Kurds took the guns," he added.

How Iran's Protests Erupted?

The protests began on December 28, 2025, after a sharp collapse of Iran's currency. This happened amid soaring inflation, state mismanagement of essential services, and worsening living conditions. The protests started with shopkeepers in Tehran's Grand Bazaar going on strike and closing shops.

Soon, more people joined and protests turned into mass nationwide street demonstrations calling for the end of the Islamic Republic system. Protesters demanded fundamental change and transition to a new system of government.

In a public speech on January 17, Ali Khamenei, who was the Supreme Leader at the time, said "thousands of people" were killed. He was later killed on February 28.

On January 16, the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, Mai Sato, said in a media interview that at least 5,000 people had been killed, noting that according to information she received from medical sources, the death count might be as high as 20,000. 

Who Are The Kurds?

The Kurdish people are an ethnic minority group in the Middle East who do not have their own independent state.

Estimates of the global Kurdish population range between 25 million and 45 million. Most Kurds live in a mountainous region spanning parts of western Iran, eastern Turkey, northern Iraq, Syria, and Armenia. There are no official population figures because Kurds are spread across several countries, according to a report by CNN.

Kurds In Iran

Kurdish people make up nearly 10 percent of Iran's population, although no official figure is available.

After the 1979 Islamic revolution, which overthrew Iran's king, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and established the Islamic republic, Kurds initially supported the new leadership and briefly controlled parts of the country.

However, Iran's mostly Sunni Muslim Kurdish community has often clashed with the Persian-speaking, Shia Muslim-dominated government in Tehran. The disputes have focused on Kurdish demands for political autonomy and cultural and language rights, according to Al-Jazeera.

Several Kurdish groups have long opposed the government in western Iran, where Kurds form a majority. There have been periods of armed rebellion, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s, which were met with heavy repression.

Many Kurdish leaders and fighters were forced out of Iran and relocated to bases in northern Iraq, although large Kurdish communities remained inside Iran.

In 2004, the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) was formed to wage an armed struggle against the Iranian state. Since then, the group has carried out attacks and ambushes on Iranian security forces from bases along the Iran-Iraq border.

(With inputs from agencies)