🔶"Trump administration used the Barzani channel to contact the IRGC"

Axios, citing three sources familiar with the matter, reported that in May, the Trump administration used Nechirvan Barzani, the head of Iraq’s Kurdistan region, to create a confidential communications channel with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

According to Axios, American negotiators in mid-May faced a main obstacle: they did not know whether the Iranian parties involved in the talks truly had authorization from the powerful IRGC structure. This uncertainty led Trump administration officials to decide to bypass the official negotiation channels and contact the IRGC leadership directly.

The report says Nechirvan Barzani was chosen for this mission because, according to Axios sources, he enjoyed the simultaneous trust of U.S. officials and IRGC leaders.