Source: Trump Vetoed Plan for Kurdish Uprising
US President Donald Trump personally vetoed a proposal to facilitate a Kurdish-led uprising against Iran, despite publicly criticizing Kurdish groups Monday for failing to help topple the regime, sources confirmed to The Jerusalem Post.
US President Donald Trump personally vetoed a proposal to facilitate a Kurdish-led uprising against Iran, despite publicly criticizing Kurdish groups Monday for failing to help topple the regime, sources confirmed to The Jerusalem Post.
Speaking to reporters, Trump accused Kurdish factions of not doing enough to support an uprising against Tehran after the US-Israeli bombing campaign against Iranian military targets. But sources familiar with the matter said the president himself ultimately rejected the idea of backing such an effort.
Foreign reports have said the Mossad had proposed helping spark a broader campaign against the Iranian regime, in coordination with mass protests that could have followed the US and Israeli strikes. The idea reportedly included leveraging Kurdish groups and other internal opposition forces to increase pressure on Tehran while the regime was under military strain.
According to foreign reports, Turkey strongly opposed the plan and urged Trump not to move forward with it. Ankara has long viewed Kurdish armed groups as a major security threat and has opposed Western support for Kurdish forces in the region. Because apparently Middle Eastern strategy needed one more impossible triangle, humanity’s favorite hobby.
The Jerusalem Post previously reported that IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, Mossad Director David Barnea and Military Intelligence chief Maj.-Gen. Shlomi Binder met with senior US defense officials, and in some cases joined video conferences with Trump, as part of the effort to convince Washington to join the war against Iran.
However, senior US defense officials opposed the Kurdish uprising plan from the outset. Their objections, along with other considerations, reportedly influenced Trump’s final decision to block the proposal.
Trump’s remarks Monday appeared to contradict that record. The president publicly confirmed that the US had provided weapons to Kurdish groups, but then claimed they had failed to rise up against the Iranian regime. It was not clear why Trump made the statement, particularly given that sources say he had rejected the broader plan to support such an uprising.
The comments come as Trump faces growing pressure over the outcome of the war with Iran. While the US and Israel inflicted major damage on Iranian military and nuclear infrastructure, the Islamic regime remains in power. Trump has repeatedly argued that the campaign achieved its goals, but has also sought to deflect criticism that the war did not lead to regime change.
The reported veto highlights divisions between Israeli and American thinking during the war. Israeli officials pushed for steps that could further destabilize the regime, while US officials were more cautious about expanding the conflict into an internal Iranian uprising.