Airstrikes hit Iran-Iraq border as US and Israeli plan to mobilise Kurds gathers pace [The Real Boots on the Ground]

The Guardian ^ | 03/04/2026 | Jason Burke in Jerusalem, Andrew Roth in Washington and Shah Meer Baloch in Islamabad

[SeekAndFind]

Intense waves of airstrikes have hit dozens of military positions, frontier posts and police stations along northern parts of Iran’s border with Iraq in what appears to be preparation by US and Israel for a new front in their war.

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”.

Both Axios and Fox News, citing a US official, on Wednesday reported that the militias had begun their offensive inside Iran. There was no official confirmation or any immediate detail about how many fighters were involved or where they were operating from.

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. He said Kurdish opposition group leaders had been contacted by US officials regarding a potential operation, without giving more details.

Meanwhile, Baloch militant groups opposed to the Tehran regime have also moved from remote mountain bases in Pakistan across the border into Iran, according to local officials.

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TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Iran; Iraq; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: andrewroth; axios; foxnews; grauniad; iran; jasonburke; kurds; rop; shahmeerbaloch

[PAR35]

The Crown Prince needs to offer the Kurds a semi-autonomous region.

[Mariner]

We’re just hoping an army goes out to meet them so we can replicate the Highway of Death.

[sauropod]

.

[Georgia Girl 2]

Im thinking the Kurds may just sit there so no Iran military forces can flee into Iraq.

[VanShuyten]

“ Meanwhile, Baloch militant groups opposed to the Tehran regime have also moved from remote mountain bases in Pakistan across the border into Iran, according to local officials.”

Only the Azeris and Uzbeks left to move around. They both have their own countries, but that’s never stopped them from shooting people.

[kaintucky]

Special Forces working with indigenous forces and US air superiority is a winning strategy. Gets more complicated keeping the Kurds from looking like foreign invaders. Emphasize Kurdish and Persian similarities. Blame the government for disagreements. If the Kurds take Persian towns let the locals pick the civilian governments, clean out Iranian security and get out of town.

[Owen]

But then about 90 minutes of this armed Kurds story splashing, the Kurds went public from their central authority and said that no such thing as happened.

There is way too much wishful thinking going on through the non-traditional media. On the other hand it’s in the traditional media too

[House Atreides]

“… Gets more complicated keeping the Kurds from looking like foreign invaders…”
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Kurds make up about 10 percent of the Iranian population. I suspect the Kurds will focus on areas in Iran with significant indigenous Kurdish populations.