"A US official with knowledge of the discussions between Washington and Kurdish officials said the US was ready to provide air support if Kurdish peshmerga fighters crossed the border from northern Iraq. A spokesperson for Israel's military said the air force had been heavily operating in western Iran to degrade Iranian capabilities there and to open up a way to Tehran and create freedom of operations there."
"Kurdish officials told the Associated Press that Kurdish Iranian dissident groups based in northern Iraq were preparing for a potential cross-border military operation in Iran, and the US has asked Iraqi Kurds to support them. Khalil Nadiri, an official with the Kurdistan Freedom Party, or PAK, based in northern Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region said on Wednesday that some of their forces had moved to areas near the Iranian border in Sulaymaniyah province and were on standby."
"Experts predicted that backing armed groups from Iran's ethnic communities would open up a hornet's nest, aggravating divisions within the diverse country and increasing the risk of a chaotic civil war if the current regime collapses."
Intensive airstrikes have struck Iranian military installations, frontier posts, and police stations along the northern Iraq-Iran border. The US has offered air support to Kurdish peshmerga fighters if they cross into Iran, while Israel's military operates in western Iran to degrade Iranian capabilities and establish operational freedom toward Tehran. Kurdish opposition groups based in northern Iraq, including the Kurdistan Freedom Party, have positioned forces near the Iranian border on standby for potential military operations. Baloch militant groups opposed to Tehran have also moved from Pakistani mountain bases into Iran. US officials have coordinated with Iraqi Kurdish leaders regarding cross-border operations. Experts warn that supporting Iran's ethnic militant groups could destabilize the country and risk civil war if the current regime collapses.
#us-israel-military-operations #kurdish-militias #iran-border-conflict #ethnic-armed-groups #regional-destabilization
Read at www.theguardian.com
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