Overview
- CNN reports the CIA is working to arm Kurdish forces to help trigger a popular uprising in Iran, while Reuters says talks are ongoing and there is no independent confirmation of large-scale weapons transfers or a launch decision.
- President Donald Trump held calls with KDPI leader Mustafa Hijri and with Iraqi Kurdish leaders Masoud Barzani and Bafel Talabani as part of outreach linked to the U.S.-Israeli campaign.
- Kurdish militias along the Iraq–Iran border say they are preparing for possible ground actions in western Iran in the coming days and have sought U.S. and Israeli support, a timeline that remains unconfirmed.
- Iran’s IRGC says it targeted Kurdish groups with dozens of drones, and Kurdish party sites in Iraqi Kurdistan were struck, as additional blasts were reported in Erbil and Sulaimaniyah and a pro-Iran Kataeb Hezbollah base in southern Iraq was hit.
- U.S. intelligence assessments question whether fragmented Kurdish factions can sustain an uprising without extensive backing, Turkey’s pro‑Kurdish Dem Party publicly rejected external regime‑change efforts, and any arming plan would likely hinge on cooperation from Iraqi Kurdish authorities.