ERBIL, Iraq/ISTANBUL

Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said Thursday that reports claiming the KRG is involved in a plan to arm Kurdish opposition groups and send them into Iranian territory are “completely unfounded.”

Government spokesperson Peshawa Hawramani issued the statement on the US social media company X’s platform following allegations that the KRG would arm Kurdish groups in Iraq that oppose the Iranian regime to fight against Iran.

“We are part of no plan to arm Kurdish opposition parties and send them into Iranian territory. These claims are entirely unfounded,” he said, describing them as deliberate and malicious.

Hawramani stressed that the KRG and its political parties are not part of any operation aimed at escalating war or tensions in the region, calling for peace and stability.

Iraq’s Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) also said the KRG is not part of the conflict between the US and Israel and Iran.

The KDP politburo issued the statement following reports in international media claiming that the US administration plans to arm Kurdish groups against Iran.

The statement recalled that the political situation in the region is going through a sensitive and decisive phase, noting that war has erupted and tensions have emerged in a conflict to which the Kurdistan region is not a party.

It stressed that Iraq as a whole, and particularly the KRG, should be kept away from wars and conflicts, emphasizing the need to prevent attacks by illegal militias and armed groups against the region.

The statement also called on the Iraqi government to fulfill its constitutional and legal responsibilities in the face of attacks that began after the outbreak of the war between Israel and the US and Iran, which it said have become a source of concern for the public.

Officials speaking to The Wall Street Journal said that US President Donald Trump is open to supporting groups ready to take up arms to overthrow the regime in Iran, suggesting such groups could potentially serve as ground forces for the US inside the country.

The US broadcaster CNN, citing American sources, also claimed that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been attempting to arm opposition Kurdish groups in Iran in an effort to trigger an uprising.

According to the sources, the US administration has been holding active talks with Iranian opposition groups and Iranian Kurdish opposition figures who have taken refuge in the KRG regarding the provision of military support.

Meanwhile, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt dismissed reports suggesting that the US is considering arming Kurdish forces in the region to encourage a popular uprising in Iran.

*Writing by Zehra Solmaz