Middle East War: Is Washington arming Kurdish rebels to open a new front against Iran?

Reports suggest the Trump administration is in talks with Kurdish opposition groups about supplying arms as the US–Israel war with Iran intensifies. If confirmed, the move would revive a long US strategy of backing Kurdish forces to pressure regional governments, and risk widening the conflict.

As air strikes pound Iran and tensions spill across the region, a quieter front may be opening along its mountainous western border. Reports from US media suggest Washington is exploring whether Kurdish opposition forces could become a new pressure point against Tehran, reviving a long and controversial playbook.

According to CNN, President Donald Trump’s administration is in discussions with opposition Kurdish groups about the possibility of arming them. The aim, US and Kurdish officials told the broadcaster, would be to encourage unrest inside Iran as the US-Israel war enters its fifth day. As of Wednesday, it remained unclear whether any agreement had been finalised.

Kurdish fighters have for years clashed with Iranian authorities, particularly in Kurdistan province and other western regions. Operating near the Iraq–Iran border, they draw on deep cross-border ties between Kurdish communities in both countries. Tehran has repeatedly accused Kurdish groups of fomenting instability, and in recent days, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has struck Kurdish positions in the west as Iran responds to attacks on its territory.

What is being discussed?

CNN reported that the CIA is negotiating with several Kurdish factions. US officials said the objective would be to stretch Iranian forces thin, create space for popular protests or potentially enable Kurdish groups to seize and hold territory in northern Iran, forming a buffer that could indirectly benefit Israel.

Trump is said to have spoken on Tuesday with Mustafa Hijri, head of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI), according to reports, which cited a Kurdish official. The same official claimed Kurdish groups inside Iran could take part in ground operations in western areas in the coming days.

Separately, Axios reported that on Sunday, one day after the US-Israeli bombing campaign began, Trump held calls with Masoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and Bafel Talabani, head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). Axios cited sources familiar with the conversations and reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pushed for closer US-Kurdish coordination for months.

Talabani has confirmed he spoke with Trump. In a statement on Tuesday, the PUK said the US president “offered an opportunity to better understand US objectives and to discuss joint support for building a strong partnership between the United States and Iraq”. No further details were released.

Israel is reported to have cultivated intelligence networks among Kurdish groups in Iran, Iraq and Syria over several years.

A long-standing relationship

The Kurds, an ethnic group spread across the Middle East without a state of their own, have a shared language and culture but have faced decades of marginalisation. Kurdish movements in Turkiye, Syria and Iran have long sought varying degrees of autonomy or self-rule.

Washington has historically maintained close ties with Iraqi Kurdish factions. During the 1991 uprising against Saddam Hussein, the US enforced no-fly zones that shielded Kurdish areas from Iraqi air power. Critics argued at the time that Washington encouraged rebellion but failed to prevent harsh reprisals by Baghdad. The protected zone eventually enabled the formation of a de facto Kurdish administration, later formalised as the Kurdistan Regional Government in 2005.

From 2014 onwards, the US partnered with Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Iraq to fight ISIL (ISIS). In Syria, during Trump’s first term in 2017, Washington trained and armed the People’s Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish militia that Ankara designates a “terror” group because of its links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The YPG became the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and played a central role in capturing Raqqa and other former ISIL strongholds.

However, US policy shifted after President Ahmed al-Sharaa came to power in Syria in December 2024. Washington backed the new government, and the SDF later agreed to integrate into state forces in exchange for recognition of Kurdish rights.

In Turkiye, the PKK recently signalled it would lay down arms after four decades of insurgency and pursue political engagement instead.

The CIA’s record abroad

Any move to arm Kurdish groups in Iran would fit into a broader history of covert US operations.

In Afghanistan, beginning in the late 1970s, the CIA funded and trained mujahideen fighters against Soviet forces. In Libya in 2011, the agency provided intelligence and other assistance to rebels battling Muammar Gaddafi.

In Iran itself, the CIA, working with Britain’s MI6, backed elements that overthrew Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh in 1953.

Elsewhere in Latin America, the agency armed and financed the Contras in 1980s Nicaragua against Daniel Ortega’s Sandinista government, and supported armed movements in Guatemala, Cuba and El Salvador. In Vietnam, covert involvement in the 1950s preceded full-scale US military intervention. In Indonesia in the late 1960s, the CIA supported rebels opposing President Sukarno.

Whether current discussions with Kurdish factions amount to a concrete plan or simply contingency planning remains uncertain. What is clear is that as missiles fly and leaders fall, attention is shifting to Iran’s borderlands, where history shows that small alliances can carry large consequences.