Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
Thousands of Kurdish fighters have launched a ground incursion into northwestern Iran, according to a US official, opening a new front in the expanding regional confrontation and raising fears of a broader escalation that could draw in neighboring Iraq.
The Kurdish militias, operating from bases across the border in northern Iraq, began the offensive on Wednesday, targeting areas inside Iran’s northwest. The development marks a significant shift in the conflict’s dynamics, potentially placing additional pressure on Iranian authorities already facing external military strikes.
According to US media reports, President Donald Trump spoke by phone Sunday with leaders of Kurdish militant groups in Iraq to discuss the evolving situation in Iran. Separate reporting indicated the CIA had examined options to arm Kurdish forces in hopes of encouraging internal unrest against Tehran, though the White House has publicly downplayed any coordinated plan.
Asked about Kurdish involvement, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth distanced the administration from direct backing of the operation.
“None of our objectives are premised on the support or the arming of any particular force,” Hegseth told reporters. “What other entities may be doing, we’re aware of, but our objectives aren’t centered on that.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Trump had spoken with Kurdish leaders regarding US bases in northern Iraq but denied that the president had approved a specific military plan involving Kurdish groups.
Battle-hardened Kurdish forces
Kurdish militant factions are widely viewed as among the most organized components of the fragmented Iranian opposition. Many of their fighters gained extensive combat experience during the campaign against the Islamic State group and maintain longstanding networks along the mountainous Iran–Iraq frontier.
Their entry into active hostilities could complicate Tehran’s security calculations. However, it also risks widening the conflict geographically and politically, particularly given the sensitive position of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region.
The Kurdish movement’s confrontation with Iranian authorities has deep historical roots. During the rule of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Kurdish communities frequently complained of marginalization and periodically rebelled. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the new Islamic Republic also fought Kurdish insurgents in clashes that devastated towns and villages and left thousands dead.
Despite shared opposition to Iran’s current leadership, Kurdish factions have also clashed politically with other Iranian opposition figures. Supporters of Reza Pahlavi, son of the former shah, have accused some Kurdish groups of harboring separatist ambitions that could threaten Iran’s territorial integrity.
Iraq caught in the middle
The cross-border operation places the leadership of Iraq’s Kurdish region in a delicate position. Tehran has repeatedly warned Baghdad about the presence of armed Iranian Kurdish groups on Iraqi soil, viewing them as a persistent security threat.
In 2023, Iraq reached an agreement with Iran to relocate and disarm these groups away from sensitive border areas. While their formal bases were closed and their movements restricted, many fighters reportedly retained their weapons.
Iraq’s national security adviser, Qassim al-Araji, said Iran had recently urged Baghdad to take stronger steps to prevent opposition fighters from crossing into Iranian territory. Al-Araji reiterated that Iraq is committed to stopping any armed groups from using its territory to conduct attacks across the border and said additional security forces had been deployed to the frontier.
Growing risk of escalation
The Kurdish region of Iraq has already come under pressure in recent days. Iranian forces and allied Iraqi militias have launched drone and missile attacks targeting US military installations, the American consulate in Irbil, and suspected militant positions.
Most incoming projectiles have reportedly been intercepted, but the strikes have damaged civilian property and disrupted energy infrastructure, including a key gas field whose shutdown has contributed to electricity shortages in the region.
Analysts warn that any sustained Kurdish push into Iran could provoke further retaliation from Tehran and inflame tensions with Iran-backed militias inside Iraq, increasing the risk that the conflict spills across multiple borders.
With no clear diplomatic off-ramp emerging, the Kurdish incursion adds another volatile layer to an already fast-moving regional crisis.
