President Donald Trump said in a telephone interview with Reuters that he supports the launch of an offensive by the Kurds in Iran.
“I think it's great that they want to do that, I totally agree,” Trump said.
When asked if the United States would provide or has provided air support for a Kurdish offensive, Trump replied: “I can't tell you that.”
A CIA backed plan
The CIA is working to arm Kurdish forces with the goal of inciting a popular uprising in Iran, multiple people familiar with the plan told CNN.
At the same time, the Trump administration is in active discussions with Iranian opposition groups and Iraqi Kurdish leaders about providing military support, according to CNN sources.
Iranian Kurdish armed groups have thousands of militants operating along the Iraqi-Iranian border, mainly in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Several of the groups have spoken out publicly since the start of the war, suggesting imminent action and urging Iranian military forces to defect. Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps has already announced that it has attacked Kurdish forces with “dozens of drones” in recent days.
Also on Tuesday, President Donald Trump spoke with Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) chairman Mustafa Hijri, according to a senior Iranian Kurdish official. The KDPI was one of the groups targeted by the IRGC.
What are the objectives of a Kurdish campaign
A CNN source familiar with the talks said the idea is for the Kurdish armed forces to fight Iranian security forces and immobilize them, to make it easier for unarmed Iranians to take to the streets in major cities without being massacred again, as happened during the protests in January.
Another US official said the Kurds could help sow chaos in the region and deplete the Iranian regime's military resources. Other ideas focused on the possibility of the Kurds conquering and controlling territory in northern Iran, thereby creating a buffer zone for Israel.
“The Iranian people are generally unarmed, and unless the security services collapse, it will be difficult for them to take control unless someone arms them,” security analyst Alex Plitsas, a former senior Pentagon official under Barack Obama, told CNN.
“I think the US hopes that this will inspire others in Iran to do the same,” he added.
