Israel has been reportedly assisting Iranian Kurdish militias in western Iran, with the aim of destabilizing Tehran and supporting Kurdish ambitions to seize towns near the border, according to three sources familiar with Israel’s talks with the factions. The initiative comes as the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran escalates, and U.S. President Donald Trump told Reuters that it would be “wonderful” if Kurdish forces crossed into Iranian territory.
Reuters reports that the Israeli government has been in talks with Iranian Kurdish insurgents based in Iraqi Kurdistan for around a year. Sources familiar with the groups and Israel’s engagement say the discussions have been “long-term,” although Israel has not publicly commented on such coordination during the ongoing war. The Kurdish factions reportedly aim to capture towns including Oshnavieh and Piranshahr, with thousands of fighters reportedly gathering on the Iraqi side of the border. Independent estimates place the combined strength of these militias at 5,000 to 8,000 fighters, mostly armed with light weaponry.
While the groups may lack the capacity to overthrow Iran’s central government, Israeli sources say backing them could weaken Tehran’s control over border regions and distract the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Five major Iranian dissident groups—including PJAK, PDKI, and PAK—formed an alliance last month, although it remains unclear whether they will receive support from Iraqi Kurdish authorities, who have publicly denied involvement.
According to Reuters, Iranian Kurds inside Iran have provided targeting intelligence to U.S. and Israeli forces, helping guide airstrikes along the frontier. Analysts suggest that Israel sees the insurgency as a way to “destroy the regime by any means available,” although experts caution that broad Kurdish support is uncertain and that such efforts could provoke nationalist backlash. Turkish and Iraqi officials have also expressed concerns about supporting separatist movements across the region.
The sources told Reuters that Iranian Kurdish groups are coordinating more closely with the U.S. than with Israel, and any cross-border operation would likely require air support from both nations. Kurdish leaders have reportedly requested guarantees from the U.S., wary of being abandoned as other regional Kurdish groups have been, particularly in northern Syria. The factions’ ultimate goal is the creation of a semi-autonomous Kurdish region within a federalized Iran, modeled after the Iraqi Kurdistan system.
