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The CIA is reportedly working on a plan to arm Iran’s Kurds. Ever since Donald Trump called for regime change, there has been speculation as to whether his administration would support the Kurdish minority. While the mainstream opposition is disjointed and reeling from the deadly response to recent protests, Iranian Kurdish groups have thousands of fighters along the Iraq-Iran border. Arming them would fit the pattern of past American interventions in the Middle East. This has sometimes worked well, such as when the US gave weapons to Syrian Kurds to fight the Islamic State a decade ago. But others will recall when George H W Bush encouraged Iraqi Kurds to rise up against Saddam Hussein during the first Gulf War. After this, he stood by as Saddam’s forces put down the rebellion and killed tens of thousands of people. Saddam would go on to rule Iraq for 12 more years.
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