Kurdish dissident groups preparing to join fight against Iran

2026-03-05 - 13:33

IRBIL, Iraq — Kurdish dissident groups based in northern Iraq are preparing for a potential cross-border military operation in Iran, The Associated Press reported quoting Kurdish officials. The CIA is working to arm Kurdish forces with the aim of fomenting a popular uprising in Iran, CNN reported citing multiple people familiar with the plan. The CIA support for Iranian Kurdish groups began several months before the war, one of the sources and a senior Kurdistan Regional Government official said. Nechirvan Barzani, president of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), said Wednesday that the region will not be part of ongoing regional conflicts and will continue supporting diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions, according to an official statement. Barzani made the remarks during a phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held to discuss regional developments and bilateral relations, the KRG presidency said. The two officials reviewed ties between Iran and the KRG and discussed recent developments in the region and their potential implications. Both sides emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability. Barzani said that the KRG “will not be part of the conflicts” and "will continue to be a factor of peace," supporting diplomatic initiatives aimed at easing tensions and protecting people in the region from the threat of war. Iranian Kurdish armed groups have thousands of forces operating along the Iraq-Iran border, primarily in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. Several of the groups have released public statements since the beginning of the war hinting at imminent action and urging Iranian military forces to defect. Iranian Kurdish opposition forces are expected to take part in a ground operation in Western Iran, in the coming days, the senior Iranian Kurdish official told CNN. “We believe we have a big chance now,” the source said, explaining the timing of the operation. The source added the militias expect US and Israeli support. Khalil Nadiri, an official with the Kurdistan Freedom Party, or PAK, based in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, said Wednesday that some of their forces had moved to areas near the Iranian border in Sulaymaniyah province and were on standby. He said Kurdish opposition group leaders had been contacted by US officials regarding a potential operation, without giving more details. Asked about reports that the Trump administration was considering arming Iranian Kurdish groups, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reportersWednesday: “None of our objectives are premised on the support or the arming of any particular force. So, what other entities may be doing, we’re aware of, but our objectives aren’t centered on that.” Before the US-Israel attack on Iran, the PAK had claimed attacks on the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in retaliation for Tehran’s violent crackdown on protests. But an official with the group said it had not sent forces from Iraq into Iran. If the Iranian and Iraqi Kurdish groups were to join the war, it would be the first entry of a significant ground force into the battle. The Kurdish groups have battle experience from the fight against the Islamic State group. An official with Komala, another of the Kurdish Iranian groups, said Wednesday that their forces are ready to cross the border within a week to 10 days and were “waiting for the grounds to be suitable.” He spoke on condition of anonymity out of security concerns. Kurds in Iran have a long history of grievances and uprisings against both the current Islamic Republic and the monarchy that preceded it. During the rule of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Kurds were marginalized and repressed and sometimes rebelled. While they share a desire to see the current authorities ousted, the Kurdish groups have also disagreements with other opposition groups, especially the son of the former shah, Reza Pahlavi, who accused the Kurds of being separatists aiming to carve up Iran. Three Iraqi Kurdish officials told the AP that a call took place Sunday night between US President Donald Trump and Masoud Barzani and Bafel Talabani — the heads of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the two main Kurdish parties in Iraq — to discuss the situation in Iran. One of the officials said Trump had asked the Iraqi Kurds to militarily support the Iranian Kurdish groups in operations in Iran and to open the border to allow the Iranian Kurdish groups to move freely back and forth. When asked about the call and reports that Trump has sought military support for Iranian Kurdish groups, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “He did speak to Kurdish leaders with respect to our base that we have in northern Iraq,” but denied that Trump had agreed to a specific plan. The Iraqi Kurdish official said the Iraqi Kurds were concerned that getting directly involved in the conflict would draw a harsh Iranian response. Already the Kurdish region has seen a string of drone and missile attacks by Iran and allied Iraqi militias in recent days, targeting US military bases and the US Consulate in Irbil as well as the Kurdish groups’ bases. In a statement, the PUK confirmed that Talabani had spoken by phone with Trump, who “provided clarification and vision regarding US objectives in the war.” The statement said the PUK “believes that the best solution is a return to the negotiating table.” The news site Axios first reported the call between Trump and the Kurdish leaders, and CNN reported that the Trump administration was in discussions with Kurdish groups over providing military support. The presence of armed Iranian Kurdish groups in northern Iraq has been a point of friction between the central Iraqi government in Baghdad and Tehran. Iraq in 2023 reached an agreement with Iran to disarm the groups and move them from their bases near the border areas with Iran into camps designated by Baghdad. Their military bases were shut down and their movement within Iraq restricted, but the groups did not give up their weapons. Iraq’s National Security Adviser Qassim al-Araji said in a post on X that Ali Bagheri, deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, had requested in a call between them “that Iraq take the necessary measures to prevent any opposition groups from infiltrating the border between the two countries.” Al-Araji said Iraq is committed to “preventing any groups from infiltrating or crossing the Iranian border or carrying out terrorist acts from Iraqi territory” and noted that security reinforcements had been sent to the border. — Agencies