All coming into focus now... The Kurds will lead the ground assault on Iran

[WarGamer]

https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/03/politics/cia-arming-kurds-iran

Washington and Erbil, Iraq
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The CIA is working to arm Kurdish forces with the aim of fomenting a popular uprising in Iran, multiple people familiar with the plan told CNN.

The Trump administration has been in active discussions with Iranian opposition groups and Kurdish leaders in Iraq about providing them with military support, the sources said.

Iranian Kurdish armed groups have thousands of forces operating along the Iraq-Iran border, primarily in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. Several of the groups have released public statements since the beginning of the war hinting at imminent action and urging Iranian military forces to defect. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been striking Kurdish groups and said on Tuesday that it targeted Kurdish forces with dozens of drones.

https://www.axios.com/2026/03/02/trump-iran-war-kurds-iraq

President Trump spoke by phone with Kurdish leaders in Iraq on Sunday to discuss the U.S.-Israel war with Iran and what might come next, three sources with knowledge of the calls told Axios.

Why it matters: The Kurds have thousands of soldiers along the Iran-Iraq border and control strategic areas that could be significant as the war develops. Iraq's Kurds also have close ties to Iran's Kurdish minority.

Zoom in: Trump spoke to leaders from the two main Kurdish factions in Iraq — Masoud Barzani and Bafel Talabani — a day after the Saturday bombing campaign began, two of the sources said.