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CIA Pursues Plan to Arm Iranian Kurds as Talks Turn to Possible Ground Operation

Sources say any Kurdish move into western Iran would hinge on Iraqi Kurdish cooperation with substantial U.S. backing.

Overview

  • Multiple sources told CNN the CIA is working to provide weapons to Iranian Kurdish groups to help foment an uprising against Tehran, while Reuters reported it could not independently confirm the agency’s role or the extent of U.S. involvement.
  • The CIA declined to comment, and the White House and Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to Reuters.
  • President Donald Trump spoke with Mustafa Hijri, leader of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, and separately called Iraqi Kurdish leaders about coordination and potential supply routes, CNN and Axios reported.
  • A senior Iranian Kurdish official told CNN that opposition fighters expect to join a ground push into western Iran in the coming days, though Reuters reported a final decision on the operation and timing has not been made.
  • Iran’s IRGC said it struck Kurdish targets with dozens of drones, and sources cited by CNN said Israeli forces have hit Iranian outposts along the Iraq border as U.S. intelligence assessments caution Kurdish groups lack the resources to guarantee a successful uprising without extensive outside support.