The United States is trying to open a land front against Iran with the Kurds of Iraq

BarcelonaThe United States and Israel continue their air war against Iran, now in its sixth day of bombing, and Tehran continues to respond with missiles and drones against US bases in the region and against Israel. But regime change will hardly be achieved without ground intervention. On Wednesday night, Washington hinted that Kurdish militias in neighboring Iraq would be willing to launch a ground offensive against Iran if given weapons. This Thursday morning, Iran launched an attack against the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq. Iranian state television Press TV reported early Thursday that the army was attacking "anti-Iranian separatist forces," without specifying the exact location of the bombings, and claimed they had suffered "heavy losses." The ministry statement, disseminated by state media, claims that Iranian forces are cooperating with "honorable Kurds" to thwart the "Israeli-American" plan to attack Iranian territory.

Videos posted on X by Press TV Images show explosions illuminating the night sky during the operation. Several explosions had already been reported in Sulaymaniyya province, in northern Iraq. According to local media, at least four detonations were heard near the areas of Arabat, Zarkuiz, and Surdash. Local sources claim the attacks targeted the headquarters of the Kurdistan Workers' Association, or Komala, an Iranian Kurdish armed group in exile in Iraq.

The bombings come amid reports that Iranian Kurdish armed groups have consulted with the United States in recent days about whether—and how—to attack Iranian security forces in the west of the country and what support they could receive from Washington. According to Reuters, the coalition of Iranian Kurdish groups based on the Iran-Iraq border is training to launch an offensive in the hopes of weakening the Iranian army. Earlier, the Iranian news agency Tasnim had denied reports that Kurdish fighters had crossed the border into Iran from Iraq.

Barzani denies it

Nechirvan Barzani, president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region, asserted that the region "must not become part of any conflict," after the Iranian military claimed to have attacked the headquarters of Iranian Kurdish forces in northern Iraq. Reports indicate that Iranian Kurdish dissident groups based in Iraq and armed by the United States are preparing to launch a cross-border military operation into Iran, potentially opening a new front in an already expanding conflict. The Barzani dynasty is an ally of Turkey, which is waging its own war against the Kurds both within its borders and in Syria.