US State Department: We will continue to stand with the Kurds and the Peshmerga for what we are now

US State Department: We will continue to stand with the Kurds and the Peshmerga for what we are now
US State Department spokeswoman Heather Noyert confirmed Washington's continued support for the Kurds, noting at the same time her country's efforts to prevent the establishment of a "Shiite crescent" and to stop Iranian influence in the region, which she described as "destabilizing."



"Our men and women in the US military fought and died alongside the Kurds," she said in response to a question about whether Washington turned its back on the Kurds in the ongoing Iraqi crisis.

"We and the Iraqi people were not what we are today without the Peshmerga and without the huge Kurdish forces," Nuerte said in an interview with Al Hurra television. "We will continue to stand by them."

"The United States has offered to provide assistance if the Iraqis want any help from us," she said, adding that Secretary of State Rex Tilerson is deeply involved with Prime Minister Haider al-Abbadi and Iraqi President Fuad Masum and the Kurds. Washington is seeking "to bring all parties together and talk about these issues" .

"We are all in agreement that when you see Iran in another country, then you know that it is not seeking good, we want to stop this destabilizing influence," the US official said.

The spokeswoman said the US State Department to address the Iranian influence in the region includes preventing the establishment of a land bridge between Tehran and Beirut, called "Shiite Crescent" and that "it will be dealt with by the US Department of Defense, which we are watching closely," stressing that " Iran through the old nuclear agreement "is a priority for the administration led by President Donald Trump.