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Akbar Novruz

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Ali Akbar Ahmadian, a member of Iran’s Defence Council, has warned that Iran could carry out widespread attacks in Iraq’s Kurdistan region if local authorities do not crack down on what he described as US and Israeli-backed rebel groups allegedly plotting to enter Iran, AzerNEWS reports.

In comments carried by Mehr news agency, Ahmadian said Iran has so far targeted only US and Israeli bases and separatist groups. However, he warned officials in Iraqi Kurdistan that if such groups are allowed to operate, plot or enter Iran via the region, all Iraqi Kurdistan facilities could be targeted.

The CIA is working to arm Kurdish forces with the aim of fomenting a popular uprising in Iran, multiple people familiar with the plan told CNN.

The Trump administration has been in active discussions with Iranian opposition groups and Kurdish leaders in Iraq about providing them with military support, the sources said.

Iranian Kurdish armed groups have thousands of forces operating along the Iraq-Iran border, primarily in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. Several of the groups have released public statements since the beginning of the war hinting at imminent action and urging Iranian military forces to defect. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been striking Kurdish groups and said on Tuesday that it targeted Kurdish forces with dozens of drones.

The CIA support for Iranian Kurdish groups began several months before the war, one of the sources and a senior Kurdistan Regional Government official said.