John Spencer

Kurdish Militias Likely to Spark Iran Ground War

Why the First Shots in an Iran Ground War Could Come From the Kurds @WSJ https://t.co/iCzYnG2yEs If a ground war is to be fought in Iran, the first shots could be fired in the country’s Kurdish areas, where militias say they are preparing to take on the government in Tehran—but only if they think they have a realistic chance of liberating themselves from regime forces. A potential Kurdish uprising could mark a turning point in a war that has mostly been waged by air, paving the way for a more widespread popular revolt that could topple the Islamic Republic from below. The idea behind the strategy is to open the way for a popular—and possibly armed—uprising in Kurdish-majority areas that have long bristled at the dominance of the Iranian government. An armed mobilization would rely on both Kurdish forces crossing into Iran from the border areas of Iraq, as well as on units that are already in the country, according to members of Iranian Kurdish groups. “We cannot move from here to there unless the airspace is cleared,” said Hana Yazdanpana, an official with the Kurdistan Freedom Party, or PAK, another armed Iranian Kurdish group based in Iraqi Kurdistan. “There needs to be a no-fly zone for us. We need to wait for the weakening of the regime and we don’t think it is going to happen over the next few days. It will be a suicide mission otherwise.”