American sources revealed that President Donald Trump is considering providing support to groups inside Iran that are willing to take up arms with the aim of removing the ruling regime. This comes in light of ongoing discussions within the US administration about the future of leadership in Tehran following the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The Wall Street Journal quoted American officials as saying that Trump made contact with Kurdish leaders last Sunday, and continues to communicate with local parties inside Iran who may exploit the state of weakness in Tehran to achieve political or field gains.
The report confirmed that White House spokeswoman Carolyn Levitt indicated that Trump spoke with a number of regional partners, without clarifying the nature of the goals or the form of potential support for these parties.
The sources explained that Trump has not yet made a final decision regarding providing direct military support, whether through weapons, training, or intelligence information, to the factions opposing the Iranian regime.
These discussions come three days after the US-Israeli military strikes that led to the killing of Khamenei and a number of senior Iranian officials, a development considered one of the most important transformations in the course of the confrontation with Tehran.
The newspaper also reported that the US administration has not yet identified a clear figure who can be dealt with as a potential successor in Iran.
Trump had previously called on the Iranian people to “restore their government,” stressing that the United States stands by them and strongly supports them.
The newspaper believed that any American decision to support armed factions inside Iran may represent an escalation that goes beyond previous calls for a popular uprising, and open the door to indirect interference in the Iranian internal conflict.
However, Trump later indicated that “someone from within the regime” might be the best choice to lead Iran in the next phase, explaining that some of the figures who were candidates to succeed Khamenei were killed during the recent strikes.
In this context, the report indicated that the Kurds possess a military force on the Iraqi-Iranian border, making them one of the parties that may play a role in any potential movement inside Iran.
This comes at a time when Israel has targeted sites in western Iran over the past few days, raising speculation about the possibility of paving the way for a Kurdish movement in those areas.
But experts believe that the Kurds will most likely not advance towards Tehran, because their military activity is concentrated in their traditional regions, noting that any broad move to overthrow the Iranian regime will require the support of Persian groups and other minorities within the country.
