The Trump administration has been in contact with Kurds in northern Iraq and Syria with a view to their entering Iran with American weapons. Bush II did the same when the United States overthrew the Taliban regime after 9/11: the CIA, together with the Northern Alliance under Ahmad Massoud, initiated a campaign that drove out the Taliban.

Trump has already held talks with two Kurdish leaders. Leaders in Baghdad are also said to have expressed interest in speaking with the Americans. This may indicate that Baghdad is interested in participating when the regime in Tehran is overthrown. Iraq has virtually become a vassal state under Iran.

But a Kurdish role against Iran’s armed forces will set alarm bells ringing in Ankara. Erdogan fears a Kurdistan.

A final decision on the operation and its possible timing has not yet been taken, the sources add, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to speak freely about sensitive military plans.

The groups have requested military support from the United States, and Iraqi leaders in Erbil and Baghdad have also been in contact with the Trump administration in recent days, they say.
The forces are in talks with the United States about CIA assistance in obtaining weapons, two of the sources say.

CNN was the first to report on the CIA’s involvement with the groups and the potential ground operation. Axios said this week that US President Donald Trump had a telephone conversation with two of the top leaders in Iraqi Kurdistan.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-march-04-2026/#liveblog-entry-3768389