U.S., Iranian Kurds discuss military operation against Tehran

U.S., Iranian Kurds discuss potential military operation against Tehran — Composite image of representatives of Iranian Kurdish parties, from right to left: PJAK, Khabat, PDKI, PAK, and Komala, in Sulaimani, Iraqi Kurdistan, February 22, 2026. Photo: iKurd.net

WASHINGTON,— Iranian Kurdish armed groups have held talks in recent days with the United States about whether and how to attack Iran’s security forces in the western part of the country, Iranian Kurdistan, three sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters.

The coalition of Iranian Kurdish groups is based along the Iranian Kurdistan and Iraqi Kurdistan border inside the semi autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan.

The fighters have been training for a possible assault aimed at weakening Iran’s military while U.S. and Israeli forces continue bombing Iranian targets with missiles and air strikes.

Two of the sources said the objective of a Kurdish attack would be to create space for Iranians opposed to the Islamic regime to rise up.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other senior officials have been killed since the U.S. Israeli offensive began on Saturday.

No final decision has been made on whether to launch the operation or when it might take place. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the military planning.

The Kurdish groups have asked for U.S. military backing. Leaders in Erbil and Baghdad have also been in contact with the Trump administration in recent days, the sources said.

Two of the sources said the groups are in discussions with the United States about possible help from the Central Intelligence Agency to supply weapons.

CNN first reported on the CIA’s involvement and the potential for a ground operation. Axios reported that President Trump spoke by phone with two senior leaders from Iraqi Kurdistan earlier this week.

Reuters could not independently verify the extent of the CIA’s role in planning the operation, whether it had arranged weapons transfers or whether U.S. forces might enter Iran alongside Kurdish fighters.

The CIA declined to comment. The White House and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The so-called Kurdish Regional Government KRG also did not immediately respond.

Any cross border operation launched from Iraq would likely depend on substantial U.S. military and intelligence assistance. The Pentagon has said that two U.S. bases in Erbil support the international coalition fighting Islamic State militants.

Kurdish factions in Iraqi Kurdistan have a long history of cooperation with Washington. However, their shifting alliances and political positions have sometimes complicated ties with the United States.

The United States worked with several Kurdish groups during the Iraq War and later in the fight against ISIS.

Kurdish PJAK (Partiya Jiyana Azad a Kurdistane)/HGP (Hêzên Parastina Gel HPG) female fighters in the border area in Iranian Kurdistan (Rojhelat). The PJAK has more than 3,000 armed militiamen, half the members of PJAK are women, 2009. Photo: AP

It remains unclear how effective Iranian Kurdish fighters would be inside Iran. Their experience on the battlefield varies from group to group.

A source cited by CNN said the plan under discussion envisions Kurdish armed units confronting Iranian security forces. That action would aim to ease pressure on unarmed protesters in Iran’s cities and make it easier for them to stage an uprising.

The reaction of other countries in the region to a Kurdish incursion into Iran is uncertain.

An armed revolt led by Iranian Kurds could have major consequences for Iran’s internal stability. It could also encourage separatist activity among Iran’s ethnic Baloch minority, which maintains close links with separatists in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province.

Islamabad is unlikely to accept any move toward Baloch independence, observers say.

Turkey, which supports Syrian interim Islamist President Ahmed al-Sharaa, views an integration agreement between Damascus and Kurdish forces of Syrian Kurdistan as essential to restoring state control across Syria.

Ankara has previously threatened military action against the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Forces SDF in the north if they refused to submit to central government authority.

Turkey has also been working to advance efforts to reach peace with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK. Analysts say Ankara would likely oppose the arming of Kurdish groups operating close to its borders.

Since coming to power in 1979, the Islamic regime has imposed rules and policies that Kurdish residents in Iranian Kurdistan describe as discriminatory in social, political and economic life.

Kurds in Iran face limits on religious, economic and cultural rights. Parents are barred from registering some Kurdish names for their children. Religious minorities that are mainly or partly Kurdish face measures that critics say are meant to isolate and stigmatize them.

Kurds also encounter discrimination in access to jobs, housing and political participation. The result has been long standing poverty that has further pushed many communities to the margins of society.

Estimates indicate that more than 12 million Kurds live in Iranian Kurdistan.

(With files from Reuters)