As American and Israeli bombings continue to pound Iran since last Saturday, talk is growing increasingly insistent about a possible involvement of Kurdish forces in a ground offensive against Tehran.
Reports published by various newspapers and news agencies describe ongoing discussions between the Trump administration and various Kurdish groups, aiming to open a ground front in northwestern Iran.
The White House denies formal agreements, but Trump’s calls to Kurdish leaders, the CIA’s role, and movements along the Iraq-Iran border tell a more complex and risky story.
WHAT TRUMP HAS IN MIND FOR IRAN
The idea of using Iranian Kurdish militias for a ground incursion seems to have originated from Israel.
According to Axios, Benjamin Netanyahu and Mossad were the first to propose supporting these groups to seize portions of Kurdish territory in Iran, creating pressure on the regime and perhaps triggering a broader rebellion.
The CIA later joined, incorporating the operation into a campaign to destabilize Tehran that has been ongoing for months, if not years.
As the New York Times writes, the agency has already supplied light weapons to these groups in a pre-existing secret program, not to overthrow the government, but to distract and create internal security problems.
The Financial Times confirms this is a joint US-Israel initiative, while CNN emphasizes that armed support began well before the current war, possibly as early as 2025, when tensions between Washington and Tehran had risen again.
TRUMP’S CALLS TO KURDISH GROUPS
President Trump took the initiative personally. Last Sunday, as reported by Axios, he spoke with Massoud Barzani and Bafel Talabani, the two heavyweights of Iraqi Kurdistan (respectively from the KDP and PUK parties), asking them to facilitate the passage of Iranian Kurdish fighters across the border.
On Tuesday, according to CNN, the president had a separate conversation with Mustafa Hijri, leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI).
Spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt downplayed the calls: she said they concerned the American base in northern Iraq and denied any agreed plan for a Kurdish insurgency.
Yet anonymous sources cited by the press – American, Israeli, Kurdish officials – agree that the main topic was precisely this: how to leverage the Kurds to open a second ground front.
WHO ARE THE KURDISH GROUPS TRUMP IS THINKING OF
At the center of the discussion are Iranian Kurdish groups based in Iraq: KDPI, PJAK (Party of Free Life of Kurdistan), Komala, PAK (Party of Freedom of Kurdistan), and others.
Axios reports that six days before the war these groups formed a joint coalition and that in recent weeks they have moved hundreds of men toward the border.
The Associated Press quotes a PAK member saying they are waiting near Sulaymaniyah, ready to enter Iran within a week if given the green light.
CNN speaks of thousands of fighters already positioned, awaiting US and Israeli support.
The Iraqi Kurds, instead, are expected to play a logistical role: allowing arms and men to transit, opening the border. But Barzani and Talabani have expressed many doubts, fearing Iranian retaliation.
Iraqi Kurdistan has already suffered attacks from pro-Iranian militias and Tehran drones; Qubad Talabani has reiterated a position of neutrality.
Moreover, the Iranian Kurdish groups are not a monolith: PJAK is ideologically linked to the Turkish PKK, which creates friction with the KDP and PUK, more pragmatic and tied to Washington and Ankara. This fragmentation could complicate any coordination.
GOALS AND RISKS OF TRUMP’S KURDISH AMBITIONS
The strategic goal is clear: to force the Iranian army to divide its forces, creating a ground front that makes air strikes more effective.
The New York Times describes how US and Israeli strikes have already hit border posts, Revolutionary Guards barracks, communication towers, and prisons in the Iranian Kurdish region, perhaps preparing the ground for an infiltration.
Axios sees the move as a way to encourage defections and internal protests, especially after the crackdowns last January.
But doubts are many and serious. The Kurds lack tanks and heavy artillery; they could end up used as “cannon fodder,” warns an official cited by Axios.
The Financial Times reports Kurdish requests for intelligence, weapons, training, and a no-fly zone, but there is no record of a definitive yes.
NBC News recalls that Kurdish groups are fragmented, with different agendas, and many fear another American abandonment, as happened in Syria after the fight against ISIS or after the 1991 uprising in Iraq, when the US left thousands of Kurds to be massacred by Saddam.
Furthermore, central Iraq has strengthened its borders and Baghdad has promised Tehran not to allow incursions from its territory.
Turkey, which has troops in Iraqi Kurdistan and has fought the PKK for decades, watches the situation with extreme concern: Ankara fears that a strengthening of PJAK could reignite the internal conflict.
