Iranian Kurdish militias have held recent discussions with the United States about a potential military operation targeting Iran's security forces in the country’s west, according to sources familiar with the matter. The groups, based along the Iran-Iraq border in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, have been training for a possible assault aimed at weakening Tehran’s military capabilities.

The proposed operation is intended to create an opportunity for domestic opposition to challenge Iran’s leadership following the reported killings of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other senior officials during ongoing United States and Israeli strikes. However, no final decision has been made regarding whether or when such an attack would occur.

The Kurdish forces have requested military assistance, including weapons support, and discussions have involved the Central Intelligence Agency as well as political leaders in Erbil and Baghdad. While some media outlets have reported on the potential involvement of American intelligence, officials from the Central Intelligence Agency, the White House, the Pentagon, and the Kurdish Regional Government have declined to comment or have not responded to requests for comment.