Kurdish opposition groups in northern Iraq have denied planning to join a US-led invasion of Iran, despite reports of US and Israeli airstrikes along the Iran-Iraq border and calls for Kurdish fighters to mobilise. A US official confirmed Washington is ready to provide air support if Kurdish forces cross into Iran, but Kurdish leaders say they have not agreed to any offensive.
Iran has warned separatist groups against exploiting the conflict, with Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, stating that 'separatist groups should not think that a breeze has blown and try to take action.' Tehran launched strikes against Iraq-based Kurdish groups it accuses of being 'opposed to the revolution.'
Khalil Nadiri, an official with the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), said US officials had contacted Kurdish leaders about a potential operation, and some forces had moved to areas near the Iranian border. However, a spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI) would not confirm whether its leader, Mustafa Hijri, was one of two Kurdish leaders US President Donald Trump called this week, but said it is the duty of 'free, democratic societies around the world to help [Iranian Kurds] win freedom.'
Experts warn that backing ethnic armed groups could 'open up a hornet's nest,' aggravating divisions and increasing the risk of civil war. Alia Brahimi of the Atlantic Council cautioned that outsourcing ground fighting to separatist groups could reduce US control and potentially rally Iranians around the regime.
