DONALD Trump has thrown his weight behind Iran’s Kurdish forces – offering air support and weapons to help them seize parts of the country, reports claim.
The US president and Israel are reportedly working to arm Kurdish militias in Iran and Iraq – in a fresh bid to topple the remaining mullah regime.
It comes as the spiralling war enters its sixth day – with six US personnel already killed in the conflict and Iran’s leadership seemingly still intact despite Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s assassination.
It comes as…
Trump has reportedly spoken to Kurdish leaders in Iraq and Iran over the last few days, urging them to get behind the US-Israeli plan.
It could see a co-ordinated Kurdish offensive on the northwest of Iran within the next few days, reports say.
Trump has said that he wants to be personally involved in picking the next Iranian leader – and has ruled out the suspected leading candidate Mojtaba Khamanei, the 56-year-old son of the late Ayatollah.
He said: “We want to be involved in the process of choosing the person who is going to lead Iran into the future.”
Pressed on whether the US would would support Kurdish forces taking on the Iranian regime, Trump said: “I’d be all for it.”
He refused to comment on whether Washington would offer air support, saying: “I can’t tell you that.”
But he said the objective for the Kurds would be “to win”, adding: “If they’re going to do that, that’s good.”
According to The Washington Post, Trump has offered “extensive US aircover” to the anti-regime Iranian Kurds, sources claim.
Kurdish militias have been discussing the possibility of an assault on Iran’s security forces in the west of the country over the last few days, Washington sources say.
The Iranian Kurdish coalitions, based on the Iran-Iraq border, are reportedly training to mount such an attack in hopes of weakening the country’s military.
The proposed military operation would come as the US and Israel continue to pummel the entire country with bombs and missiles following the death of Khamenei on Saturday.
But it also comes amid reports that militants from several Kurdish Iranian factions have already launched a ground offensive, according to local media.
Who are the Kurds?
The Kurdish people are indigenous to the Middle East but do not have their own country, meaning communities are spread across borders.
Numbering at some 45 million, they live in Kurdistan, which stretches across Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and Iran.
They make up roughly 20 per cent of the populations of Turkey and Iraq, and about 10 per cent of Iran and Syria.
A senior Iranian Kurdish official told CNN an imminent ground attack on the regime with US-Israeli support was expected, also saying: “We believe we have a big chance.”
Another top official from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan told the Post: “The American request to the Iraqi Kurds is to open the way and not obstruct… while also providing logistical support.”
And the third told the outlet that the US president said the militias must “choose a side in this battle – either with America and Israel or with Iran”.
The offensive even has a name already, Kurdish sources said.
It has been dubbed Zhina after the middle name of Mahsa Amini – the young Kurdish woman whose death in an Iranian police station in 2022 sparked nationwide protests.
Since Khamenei’s assassination on Saturday, Israel has been blitzing security posts in northwest Iran, reportedly paving the way for an offensive.
At the same time, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have also been bombing the region while deploying troops on the ground to counter the militias.
The Kurds have a unique position amid Iran’s various anti-regime movements – they are the only group with access to weapons, making them a primary threat to the reeling mullahs.
Despite recent reports of a Kurdish militia attack on Iran’s security forces – the sprawling collection of groups do not all agree on whether the US-Israeli military action is a good thing.
Inside and outside of Iran, Kurdish and anti-Iranian regime groups have split opinions over joining the fight.
The Kurdistan regional government (KRG) in Iraqi Kurdistan condemned such a plan.
They said Iraqi Kurdistan had always been “a factor of stability and calm in the region and has never been a source of threat or danger to the security of any neighbouring country, nor will it allow any party to use the Kurdistan region against any neighbouring country”.
The blueprint has reportedly been conceived by Tel Aviv, with Benjamin Netanyahu presenting the plans to Trump in recent days.
It comes as Iran continues to launch strikes across the Gulf state in response to the death of Supreme Leader Khamenei.
On Thursday, shocking footage showed the moment Iran blitzed Bahrain‘s biggest petrol refinery.
Britain has also announced it will send the destroyer HMS Dragon to the region, although the warship won’t depart Portsmouth until next week.
The first UK evacuation flight for Brits stranded in the region has left Oman, with a further seven flights due to leave the UAE on Thursday night.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has declared Iran “toast” and stated the US is “winning decisively” in “Operation Epic Fury”.
