The long-anticipated ground offensive against Iran appears to have begun, with thousands of Kurdish fighters crossing the border from Iraq in what sources are describing as a CIA-backed insurgency — though conflicting claims are emerging about the true scale of the operation.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has warned of "terrorist movements" at his country's border with Iraq, making the remarks during a phone call with Bafel Talabani, head of Iraq's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. The Iranian ministry confirmed the conversation.
A US official told Fox News on Wednesday evening that thousands of Iraqi Kurds had launched a ground offensive inside Iran.
An official from the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan told i24News: "The ground military movements by Kurdish forces against Iran have already started since the midnight of March 2."
The same official said Iranian forces had evacuated the border city of Mariwan on March 3 to begin establishing defensive positions. Unconfirmed reports suggest Kurdish forces have taken control of several hills in Bayow, west of Marivan, after Iranian border guards withdrew from the area.
Israeli chief political analyst Amit Segal added weight to the reports, saying: "Israeli officials confirm that Kurdish forces have engaged Iranian forces."
According to a Kurdish official posting on X, thousands of fighters began moving into combat positions inside Iranian territory on Monday March 2.
The operation follows earlier reporting from CNN that the CIA had been working to arm Kurdish forces with the aim of triggering a popular uprising inside Iran. Kurdish officials also separately confirmed to i24News that forces were advancing from Iraqi territory.
However, not all parties are backing the invasion narrative. Deputy Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister of the Kurdish Region Aziz Ahmad flatly denied it. "Not a single Iraqi Kurd has crossed the border. This is patently false," he said.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth also sought to distance the Pentagon from the operation on Wednesday, saying the US military was not arming an insurgency inside Iran — though he stopped short of ruling out involvement from other parts of the US government.
The White House moved to deny reports that Trump had agreed to arm Kurdish forces. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: "He did speak to Kurdish leaders with respect to our base that we have in northern Iraq. But as for any report suggesting that the president has agreed to any such plan is completely false and should not be written."
