US to Support Certain Kurdish Groups in Anti-Iranian Efforts

US President Donald Trump has recently spoken to at least three Kurdish groups in Iran and Iraq. Share Save Iran has launched operations against Iranian and Iraqi Kurdish groups in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in neighboring Iraq. According to reports, more than 1,000 people have been killed across the country.

State television, Press TV, reported that Tehran was striking “anti-Iran separatist forces” on Thursday. The Iranian military stated that it used drones on Kurdish positions earlier this week. Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported that three missiles were targeted at the headquarters of Kurdish groups opposed to the revolution in Iraqi Kurdistan.

The attack comes after reports of US President Donald Trump being in active talks with Iranian and Iraqi Kurdish groups, with Washington reportedly hoping to use them to spur a popular uprising. Various Iranian Kurdish groups have long opposed Tehran from their bases in northern Iraq and along the Iraq-Iran border.

US officials stated that the aim is to stretch Iranian forces and take out the remains of the military-dominated Iranian government. There is also speculation that the groups could be supported to take control of northern Iran to create a ground buffer for Israeli forces, possibly streaming in from Iraq.

The US has not ruled out sending ground forces, although analysts say that Iran’s rugged territory would make this difficult. The US and Kurdish groups have not confirmed any agreements by Thursday. Trump has spoken to the leaders of two Kurdish groups in Iraq: Masoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and Bafel Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). Trump also spoke to Mustafa Hijri, head of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI), on Tuesday.

Iranian Kurdish rebel groups have formed an alliance called the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan (CPFIK) one week before the war broke out. The group issued statements at the start of the conflict, signaling imminent intervention and urging Iranian military members to defect. Thousands of fighters from Israel’s KDPI are believed to be in Iran by Wednesday.

The Kurdistan Democratic Party controls the capital city of Erbil as well as Duhok, and has historical ties with Iranian Kurdish groups. The KRG region President Nechirvan Barzani spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday, stating that his region “will not be part of conflicts” targeting Tehran.

Source: Al Jazeera