Kurdish Iranian dissident groups based in northern Iraq are mobilizing for a potential cross-border military operation into Iran, according to Kurdish officials who spoke with the Associated Press. These groups, considered among the most organized factions within the fragmented Iranian opposition, are believed to command thousands of battle-hardened fighters. Their possible entry into the ongoing conflict — triggered after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on March 1 — would mark the first deployment of a significant ground force and could substantially challenge the embattled Iranian government.

Officials with the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), operating from Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region, confirmed that some forces had repositioned near the Iranian border in Sulaymaniyah province and were on standby. A representative from Komala, another Kurdish-Iranian group, indicated their fighters could cross into Iran within a week to ten days, pending suitable conditions on the ground. U.S. officials reportedly reached out to these groups about a potential coordinated operation, though details remained vague.

The situation placed Iraqi Kurdish leaders in a delicate diplomatic position. Three Iraqi Kurdish officials confirmed to the AP that President Donald Trump held a phone call on Sunday with Masoud Barzani and Bafel Talabani — heads of the two main Kurdish parties in Iraq — to discuss the Iran war. One source said Trump requested that Iraqi Kurds militarily back the Iranian Kurdish groups and open the border to allow them freedom of movement. The White House acknowledged the call but denied that Trump had committed to any specific plan.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, asked whether the administration was considering arming Kurdish forces, told reporters that U.S. objectives were not premised on supporting any particular faction. Iraq's national security adviser separately stated that Iraq would not allow any group to conduct cross-border attacks from its territory into Iran. Meanwhile, Iran and allied Iraqi militias have already launched drone and missile strikes against Kurdish bases and U.S. installations in Irbil, raising the stakes for any further Kurdish involvement. Historically, Iranian Kurds have had long-standing grievances against successive Iranian governments, having faced repression both under the former monarchy and the current Islamic Republic.