1. Home
2. Middle East
3. Trump Pushes Kurds to Attack Western Iran

Talks between Kurdish opposition leaders and U.S. President Donald Trump have raised the prospects of a Kurdish ground invasion in northwestern Iran, informed sources told Reuters.

Three sources with knowledge of the talks said that Iranian Kurdish militias have consulted with the United States about how to attack Iranian security forces in the western part of the country through the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

According to Axios, a ground offensive coordinated with the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign could increase pressure on the regime and sidestep the need for American army forces.

As the conflict widens in the region, Trump has also publicly urged Kurdish intervention, telling Reuters of the possibility of Iranian Kurdish forces entering Iran, "I think it's wonderful that they want to do that, I'd be all for it.”

Six days before the war kicked off in Tehran, five dissident Kurdish groups announced the formation of the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan from neighboring Iraq, vowing to fight the Iranian Regime. An informed source told Axios that these groups have thousands of soldiers on the Iran-Iraq border and have already sent hundreds of their members into Iran to prepare for operations.

The Iranian Kurdish militias are backed by the Mossad and the CIA, two U.S. and Israeli officials and a third source with knowledge told Axios.

Rationale for Support

According to Axios reporting, the goal is to secure a specific area in the Kurdish region of Iran, from which the armed groups can challenge the regime and inspire a broader uprising, a U.S. official said.

The action could sidestep the need for U.S. ground operations, seen as politically toxic by many in President Trump’s coalition.

"The war started with a kinetic phase by the U.S. and Israeli militaries, but as the war continues there will be other efforts by the Mossad and the CIA," an Israeli official said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Congress in a closed-door briefing on Tuesday: "We're not arming the Kurds. But you never know with the Israelis."

Difficulties in approach

Any support for a Kurdish ground force to dislodge the Iranian regime would need to be extensive, informed sources told CNN, which first broke the story on CIA involvement.

U.S. intelligence assessments have consistently indicated that the Iranian Kurds don’t possess the influence or resources to bolster a successful uprising against the government, one of their sources said.

France24 reported that Tehran said it had hit Iraq-based Kurdish groups "opposed to the revolution" on Thursday, with Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, saying we “will not tolerate” separtist groups in any way.