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By Peter Aitken
Politics Weekend Editor
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Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst said Sunday that President Donald Trump told him during a phone interview the United States had sent weapons to the Kurds that were meant to make their way into the hands of Iranian protesters but never did.
"President Trump told me the United States sent guns to the Iranian protesters," Yingst related to the Fox & Friends Weekend hosts. "He tells me: 'We sent them a lot of guns. We sent them through the Kurds,' and the president says he thinks the Kurds kept them."
"He went on to say, 'We sent guns to the protesters, a lot of them,'" Yingst added.
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Newsweek reached out to the White House and the Iranian foreign ministry by email outside of normal business hours on Sunday for comment.
Why It Matters
Trump has previously sought to distance the U.S. from Kurdish involvement in the Iran war, reversing earlier rhetoric that appeared to welcome their participation. Trump told reporters he had instructed Kurdish groups not to enter the war, signaling Washington did not want to be seen as encouraging a new front that could entangle the U.S. more deeply or expose Kurdish forces to retaliation.
Trump’s comments fit a broader pattern of the president downplaying long‑term U.S. obligations to regional partners while emphasizing that allies must take responsibility for their own security. By drawing a clearer line between U.S. military objectives and Kurdish ambitions, Trump has framed the Kurds as outside the scope of American commitments, reinforcing his message the U.S. is not bound to protect or back them in the current conflict.
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What To Know
After remaining relatively quiet over the holiday weekend, Trump spoke to reporters on Sunday as he tried to build some buzz about American efforts to negotiate with Tehran and end the war.
Yingst addressed the negotiations early on, saying Trump believes he can secure a deal "by tomorrow" and there was a "good chance" they could wrap on Monday.
However, he then revealed details of the lead-up to the war, including the U.S. response to reports earlier this year of tens of thousands of civilians killed by the Iranian regime during protests, 45,000 by Trump's count, and the U.S. then sent guns to Iranian protesters.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) estimated over 7,000 Iranian protesters were killed in response to the mass demonstrations, while other media reports, citing officials in Iran, said the actual number was over 30,000.
**"**Remember, the president made a commitment to the Iranians protesters who were in the streets of their country earlier this year," Yingst said. "Those images were circulating online of thousands of people who were slaughtered at the hands of the Iranian regime, the current regime that is attacking U.S. forces as we speak, and the president made a commitment on Truth Social to those protesters, and he said help is on the way."
"And we are learning as a result of this call with President Trump that he attempted to send guns to these protesters in order to fight back and defend them," Yingst continued. "Remember these were peaceful demonstrators who were protesting against their government, and they were met with live ammunition from the Iranian regime in the streets of their country. They were slaughtered."
This marks a rare admission from Washington regarding its dealings with rebel groups and arming uprisings against regimes in other nations - and a direct admission of dealing with the Kurds after the president had tried to distance his administration from their potential involvement in the Iran conflict.
However, a Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) representative, Hejar Berenji, told Yingst, “We did not receive any weapons during the time of the demonstrations in Iran.”
Washington and Tehran Far Apart on Negotiations
The negotiations appear to find the two sides quite far apart. In a statement to CNN, a senior Iranian official said the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until "under a new legal regime, the damages from the imposed war are fully compensated from a portion of the transit toll revenues."
This followed Trump posting a message on Truth Social on Sunday morning that threatened critical civilian infrastructure in Iran, writing: "Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F*****’ Strait, you crazy b********, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH!"
He later clarified he meant Tuesday, 8 p.m. ET.
The Hill's chief White House correspondent Julia Manchester, after a phone call with the president, reported he admitted he would not rule out sending ground troops into Iran if it did not agree to a deal.
And Yingst noted in his conversation with Trump on Sunday the president is "very serious" about his threats after offering "multiple off-ramps."
"He tells me that he...ideally will take Iranian oil if they are unwilling to make an agreement, and so that is a major development in this conflict, and the president making very clear in his post on Truth Social that Iranian power and energy infrastructure will be targeted in the days ahead if Iran doesn't make a deal tomorrow," he added.
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