A leak to the media about a potential Kurdish Iran offensive may have helped save the lives of large numbers of Kurds. A new report at Israel’s Channel 12 and also a report at Ynet offer the first full picture of what transpired in the first days of the Iran conflict, including key leaks that likely saved Kurdish groups from a false start to an offensive.
In the first days of the war, a number of reports in US media portrayed the Kurds as being armed by the US and also claimed they had launched an offensive. In fact, no offensive had taken place, and there appears to be no evidence that the groups were being significantly armed. The Kurdish groups denied the reports and said they were waiting and being cautious.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported on March 29 about the potential Kurdish Iran operation that could have coincided with the beginning of the US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran. “The operation was ultimately thwarted following a leak to the international media, which revealed the connection with the Kurds and led President Trump to veto the plan due to the high risk and pressure from Iran.”
It's important to understand the context here. Kurdish Iranian groups have been active for years, opposing the Iranian regime. These groups come from a broad spectrum of Kurdish society in Iran. There are millions of Kurds in Iran. Most live in western Iran, in a region bordering other Kurdish regions, particularly the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq.
The Kurdish groups in Iran have often disagreed on how best to oppose the regime. Although united in their dislike of the regime, they don’t always agree on what the post-regime era will look like. The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan is a centrist and nationalist Kurdish group that has been active for more than 80 years.
It is also close to the Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq. In contrast, the Kurdistan Free Life Party, or PJAK, is linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party, a far-left group that is viewed as terrorists by Turkey. Other Kurdish groups, such as the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), Komala, and Khabat, are also active.
Six Kurdish groups agreed to coordinate their position against the Iranian regime between December 2025 and March 2026. This coordination meant that the Kurdish groups could not easily be used piecemeal in the conflict. This benefited the Kurds a lot.
The benefit was that they had to agree on what to do next. Some of the groups are much more cautious than others. In addition, some of the groups have links to Kurds who have served alongside the US in other places, such as in Syria with the Syrian Democratic Forces. Also, PAK helped in the war on ISIS. As such, the Kurds know both the positives and challenges of working alongside the US and the West.
Kurdish distrust of foreign support
Many Kurds these days are suspicious of claims of support from abroad. They have seen how Kurds sacrificed their lives in the war against ISIS, and then they felt abandoned. In addition, many Kurds recall that their quest for independence was betrayed as far back as the 1940s. In the 1970s, they also felt betrayed.
Similarly, after the 2017 independence referendum in the autonomous Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq, the Kurds felt isolated as the Iraqi military attacked them in Kirkuk.
This long background means that when the Iran conflict began on February 28, many Kurdish groups were surprised to see a CNN report headlined “CIA working to arm Kurdish forces to spark uprising in Iran, sources say.” Published on March 4, it raised eyebrows because the Kurdish opposition groups primarily have only small arms, such as AK-47s.
The reports about the arming of Kurds coincided with a Fox News report that claimed “Kurds launch ground offensive” on March 4. The Kurdish opposition groups had not launched a ground offensive. They were surprised by the reports.
Israel’s Channel 12 report now sheds light on what happened. While there was support for the Kurdish groups in Israel and the US, there was no clear agreement on whether a Kurdish offensive would succeed. The Kurdish opposition groups are based in northern Iraq, even though they have supporters in Iran.
An offensive could drag the Kurdistan Region of Iraq into the conflict. Iran was already threatening the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, with Iranian-backed militias launching hundreds of drone and missile attacks. Some attacks struck the Kurdish groups, such as Komala, PDKI, Khabat, and PAK. Iran was trying to pre-empt any operation from the first day of the conflict.
Channel 12 in Israel reported that “deep gaps emerged within the Israeli intelligence community.” The leak or leaks apparently helped derail the operation by bringing a lot of light to it. It’s not clear whether the Kurds would have gone in anyway, given that they also knew the low chance of success. The most the Kurdish fighters could hope for was to liberate some towns and villages in a war.
Was there a chance this would lead to a larger uprising in Iran? Many other voices among Iranians abroad tend to be critical of Kurds and call them “separatists.” As such, from the first days of the conflict, the opposition to the regime appeared divided. Also, there were no other large armed groups ready to work with the Kurds. This would leave the Kurds isolated and fearful of reprisals from the regime.
“Beyond the leak, Turkey's fierce opposition and the Kurds' deep crisis of confidence in American guarantees prevented the battle from taking place and led to the scrapping of the entire plan,” Channel 12 notes. “The operational goal was to reach the heart of Tehran, break through the barrier of fear, and ignite a broad popular protest that would lead to a change of government.
With the approval of the censors, we revealed in the weekend news the details behind the plan.” Channel 12 also says the plan was ultimately cancelled “at the moment of truth due to a veto imposed by President Trump and serious disagreements within the Israeli security establishment.”
A separate report at Israel’s Ynet on March 30 also notes that Turkey was concerned about the reports of a possible Kurdish offensive. Ankara has recently been able to work on a ceasefire with the PKK and hopes the group will disarm and disband. Ankara has also pushed for the SDF to integrate with Damascus’ security forces. As such, Turkey doesn’t want to see a PKK-linked group in Iran suddenly burst onto the scene there.
Turkey has very good ties with the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq. It appears that it advised Erbil to keep the lid on any offense. Erbil probably wanted to do this anyway. The US has forces in the KRG, and US forces and diplomatic posts were targeted by Iranian-backed militias from the first days of the war. This clearly sent a message from Tehran that Iran would act against any Kurdish uprising. Iran would spread the war to Iraq.
According to Ynet, when news of the possible Kurdish role surfaced, “Ankara also reportedly sent deterrent messages to the PKK, the Kurdish militant group, warning it would take action if it joined the effort. The report added that imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan had called on Kurdish groups not to respond to Israeli initiatives.”
With this in mind, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “raised the issue in a conversation with US President Donald Trump, expressing opposition to the use of Kurdish forces in the conflict.”
Turkey views the conflict with Iran as a form of “fitna” or discord, according to Turkish Intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin.
“Alongside this major war, I must also underline that a great fire of discord is being ignited in our region," said Kalin.
"One of the intended outcomes of this war is not merely the elimination of Iran’s nuclear capacity; far more dangerously, it is the laying of the groundwork for a fratricidal conflict - a prolonged cycle of hostility among the region’s founding peoples, namely Turks, Kurds, Arabs, and Persians, that could endure for decades," continued Kalin. "As Turkey, I would like to stress that we will remain on full alert and resolutely counter such attempts.” He mentions Kurds, and it is clear how Ankara is thinking about the conflict in Iran.
It now appears that many Kurdish lives were saved by the leak or leaks that derailed a push to encourage them to begin an uprising in Iran. Such an early uprising could have given Iran an excuse to crush the Kurdish regions and kill large numbers of people. Some also believe that any actions might have led to conflict with other Iranian opposition groups.
At the end of the day, it is clear that other Iranian opposition groups will also need to do the fighting and heavy lifting. Kurds can’t do everything. Kurds have felt used in the past and feel they have been abandoned after helping. When it comes to Iran, the Kurdish opposition groups choose caution. They read the reports about their “offensive” and chose to hold back. Many are likely alive today because of it.