CIA Weighs Arming Kurds Against Iran

The CIA is working to arm Iranian Kurdish forces as part of an effort to foment a popular uprising in Iran, according to multiple people familiar with the plan who spoke to CNN. The discussions, involving the Trump administration and Kurdish leaders in Iraq, center on using armed Kurdish groups to stretch Iranian security forces and create space for unrest in major cities.

Iranian Kurdish armed groups field thousands of fighters along the Iraq-Iran border, primarily inside Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government. Several groups have issued public statements since the beginning of the war signaling imminent action and urging Iranian military forces to defect. On Tuesday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it targeted Kurdish forces with “dozens of drones,” underscoring the active cross-border dimension of the confrontation.

Also on Tuesday, President Donald Trump spoke with Mustafa Hijri, president of the KDPI, according to a senior Iranian Kurdish official. KDPI was among the groups struck by the IRGC. Iranian Kurdish opposition forces are expected to take part in a ground operation in Western Iran “in the coming days,” the same official told CNN. “We believe we have a big chance now,” the source said, adding that militias expect U.S. and Israeli support.

One person familiar with the discussions said the concept is for Kurdish armed forces to engage Iranian security units and pin them down, making it easier for unarmed civilians in major cities to mobilize without facing the kind of mass casualties seen during unrest in January. Another U.S. official said the Kurds could help sow chaos and stretch the regime’s military resources thin. Some proposals have examined whether Kurdish militans could seize and hold territory in northern Iran to establish a buffer zone for Israel.

Alex Plitsas, a former senior Pentagon official under President Barack Obama, said the United States “is clearly trying to jump-start” the overthrow of the regime by arming Kurdish groups. “The Iranian people are generally unarmed as a whole and unless the security services collapse, it’ll be difficult for them to take over unless someone arms them,” he told CNN. “I believe the US is hopeful that this will inspire others on the ground in Iran to do the same.”

Jen Gavito, a former senior State Department official under President Joe Biden, warned that the implications may not be fully considered. “We are already facing a volatile security situation, on both sides of the border,” she said. “This has the potential to undermine Iraqi sovereignty and essentially empower armed militias with no accountability and with little understanding of what it may set in motion.”

Any effort to arm Iranian Kurdish groups would require cooperation from Iraqi Kurdish authorities to allow weapons transit and the use of Iraqi Kurdistan as a launch ground. Kurdish opposition factions are fractured, with differing ideologies and competing agendas. Some Trump officials involved in the talks have questioned whether those dynamics could jeopardize a working relationship given the level of trust required.

U.S. intelligence assessments have consistently indicated that Iranian Kurdish groups lack the influence and resources to mount a successful uprising on their own, one person familiar with the matter said. Kurdish parties are also seeking political assurances from the Trump administration before committing to resistance efforts.