Kurds and Iran War: CIA Arms Kurdish Forces as Ground Invasion of Iran Begins
The Kurdish role in the U.S.-Israel war against Iran just became the biggest wildcard in the entire conflict. The CIA is actively arming Iranian Kurdish opposition groups, Trump personally called Kurdish leaders in Iraq, and reports confirmed Thursday that Kurdish forces have already launched a ground offensive into western Iran. Here is the complete breakdown.
Kurdish Forces Launch Ground Invasion of Iran
Kurdish forces in Iraq have launched a ground military offensive into Iran against the Islamic regime, with the CIA working to arm Kurdish forces to spark an uprising. Kurdish-Iranian opposition forces are going into western Iran as part of a ground operation, with U.S. and Israeli support expected.
An official with Komala — one of the major Kurdish Iranian groups — said their forces are ready to cross the border within a week to 10 days and were waiting for the grounds to be suitable.
Iranian Kurdish armed groups have thousands of forces operating along the Iraq-Iran border, primarily in Iraq's Kurdistan region. Several groups have already released public statements since the beginning of the war hinting at imminent action and urging Iranian military forces to defect.
CIA Arms Kurds: The Plan Explained
The Trump administration has been in active discussions with Iranian opposition groups and Kurdish leaders in Iraq about providing them with military support. One person familiar with the discussions said the idea would be for Kurdish armed forces to take on Iranian security forces and pin them down — making it easier for unarmed Iranians in major cities to turn out without getting massacred. Another U.S. official said the Kurds could help sow chaos in the region and stretch the Iranian regime's military resources thin. Still other ideas centered on whether the Kurds could take and hold territory in northern Iran to create a buffer zone for Israel.
Trump Calls Kurdish Leaders Personally
Trump spoke with Kurdish leaders on Sunday — Masoud Barzani of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and Bafel Talabani of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan — to discuss the situation in Iran and how the U.S. and Kurds could work together. Trump also spoke directly with Mustafa Hijri, president of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, on Tuesday.
The calls were described as the culmination of months of behind-the-scenes lobbying by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has had close security, military, and intelligence ties with the Kurds in Syria, Iraq, and Iran for decades. "It is the general view, and certainly Netanyahu's view, that the Kurds are going to come out of the woodwork — that they are going to rise up," one official said.
Iran Retaliates: IRGC Bombs Kurdish Bases in Iraq
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted Kurdish opposition group headquarters across the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq with dozens of drones and ballistic missiles beginning February 28. The Kurdistan Freedom Party, Komala, and the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan all confirmed their bases were struck, with attacks reported between Erbil and Duhok.
The Kurdish region has suffered a string of drone and missile attacks by Iran and allied Iraqi militias — targeting U.S. military bases and the U.S. Consulate in Irbil as well as Kurdish group bases. While most attacks were intercepted, civilian homes were damaged and the region is suffering from electricity cuts after a key gas field halted operations due to security concerns.
Iraqi Kurdistan: Caught in the Middle
The potential Kurdish operation has put leaders of the Iraqi Kurdish region in a deeply delicate position. Trump asked the Iraqi Kurds to militarily support the Iranian Kurdish groups in operations inside Iran and to open the border to allow Iranian Kurdish groups to move freely back and forth.
One senior Kurdistan Regional Government official said: "We cannot stand against America. We are very frightened." Another said the uncertainty was the core problem — "one day Trump says we will overthrow the regime, the next day he says something different. The policy is not clear."
Iraq's national security adviser said in a formal statement that Iraq will not allow groups to infiltrate or cross the Iranian border to carry out acts from Iraqi territory — a direct rebuke of the American plan.
Who Are the Kurds? Background
The Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in Iraq and one of the largest in Iran — often described as the largest ethnic group in the world without their own country. Their ancestral lands span southeastern Turkey, northern Syria, northern Iraq, and northwestern Iran. Kurdish fighters called peshmerga — which means "those who face death" — have decades of combat experience, including fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
Kurdish groups have a long history of working with the U.S., including during the Iraq War and the battle against ISIS — but their shifting allegiances and the U.S. track record of stepping back from alliances have created deep mistrust on both sides heading into this pivotal moment.
