As the US and Israeli war against Iran continues, armed Kurdish groups along the country’s north-western border have come into focus as a potential ground force that could move against Tehran.
Citing Kurdish officials, the Associated Press reported that Kurdish-Iranian dissident groups in northern Iraq were getting ready for a possible operation inside Iran, and that Washington has asked Iraqi Kurds to assist.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth told reporters that Washington’s strategy was not centred on backing any one force.
“None of our objectives are premised on the support or the arming of any particular force,” Mr Hegseth said. “What other entities may be doing, we’re aware of, but our objectives aren’t centred on that.”
Conflicting reports emerged on Wednesday of movements in the region. Fox News said thousands of Iraqi Kurds had launched a ground offensive in Iran.
But Aziz Ahmad, deputy chief of staff to Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, denied that, saying on X that no Iraqi Kurds had crossed the border.
Kurdish factions are widely regarded as the most organised part of Iran’s otherwise fragmented opposition and are believed to have thousands of trained fighters.
If Kurdish groups in Iran and Iraq were to enter the conflict, it would mark the first involvement of a significant ground force.
Tehran has designated several Kurdish opposition movements as terrorist organisations. Many of these groups previously fought Iranian security forces in Kurdish-majority areas near the country’s western border.
In recent years, however, Kurdish factions have largely stepped back from armed activity, though they remain politically active in exile and continue campaigning against Iran’s leadership.
Last month, five Kurdish groups announced the formation of the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan.
The group said in a statement that it aims to “struggle for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic of Iran, to achieve the Kurdish people’s right to self-determination, and to establish a national and democratic entity based on the political will of the Kurdish nation in Iranian Kurdistan".
Diliman Abdulkader, founder of the American Friends of Kurdistan, told The National that Kurdish factions are cautious about deeper involvement without guarantees from western powers.
“We have to be realistic, the Kurds have demands as well,” he said. “They require guarantees because we just witnessed what the Kurds went through in Syria, and they do not want to be betrayed by the West again.”
Kurds in Syria, whom Washington had backed for years, are feeling betrayed after the US suddenly stopped supporting them this year.
Mr Abdulkader said Kurdish leaders were seeking assurances such as protection from foreign intervention and potential measures like a no-fly zone over parts of north-western Iran.
“The reality is that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Kurds,” he added.
Still, some analysts warn that introducing Kurdish armed groups into the conflict could trigger broader instability inside Iran.
Arash Azizi, an Iranian-American historian and scholar, said such a strategy could deepen internal divisions.
“It’s a recipe for civil war,” he told The National. “These Kurdish groups have a genuine base in Iranian Kurdistan and could play a role in a democratic Iran. But an armed incursion from Iraqi Kurdistan is likely to lead to ethnic conflict with other non-Kurdish Iranians.”
Iran's population of more than 90 million is ethnically diverse, with large Azeri, Lur, Kurdish, Arab, Baloch and Turkmen minorities.
Kurds in Iran have a long history of grievances and uprisings against both the current regime and the monarchy that preceded it.
During the rule of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Kurdish communities were marginalised and periodically rebelled. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the Iranian regime fought Kurdish militants in clashes that killed thousands.
Mr Azizi said Kurdish factions remain the only opposition groups with organised military forces near Iran’s borders, which may explain why policymakers view them as a potential partner.
“They already have militias. These militias obviously operate on Iraqi Kurdish soil. You know the fact that there happens to be an Iraqi-Kurdish region right next to the Iranian-Kurdish region, and it has autonomy, established ties with United States and Israel that go back for decades,” he said.
“If you want some forces on the ground, Kurds are pretty much the only ones who can do it.”
Iran analyst Karim Sadjadpour said arming Kurdish factions could weaken broader opposition efforts.
“The greatest countervailing force against the Islamic Republic is pluralistic Iranian nationalism,” he told CNN. “Reports that the US may fund or arm Kurdish factions inside Iran will alarm many Iranians and undermine the regime’s opposition.”
CNN first reported on possible CIA involvement with Kurdish groups and the prospect of a ground operation, while Axios reported that President Donald Trump had held a phone call this week with two senior leaders of Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
A Kurdish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to The National that Mr Trump did hold a phone call on Sunday night with Masoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), to discuss developments in Iran.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the President had spoken to Kurdish leaders at the weekend about a US base in northern Iraq. Reports claiming the President agreed to any broader plan are “completely false”, she added.
