Iranian Kurdish opposition groups say they are prepared to challenge Tehran but are holding back as the US-Israel-Iran war continues to unfold.

Already Iran and allied Iraqi militias have launched dozens of missiles and drone attacks into northern Iraq, targeting the U.S. bases and consulate in Irbil as well as bases of the Iranian Kurdish dissident groups.

The CIA is working to arm Kurdish forces with the aim of fomenting a popular uprising in Iran and the Trump administration has been in active discussions with Iranian opposition groups and Kurdish leaders in Iraq about providing them with military support,

“Arm the rebels” is a time-worn tactic for governments trying to topple the leadership of a hostile nation. On March 5, as American and Israeli forces bombarded Iran, US President Donald Trump said it

A Kurdish official said armed forces have already evacuated the Iranian city of Mariwan and established defensive locations around the area

Kurdish Iranian dissident groups based in northern Iraq are preparing for a potential cross-border military operation in Iran, and the U.S. has asked Iraqi Kurds to support them, Kurdish officials have told The Associated Press.

From their hideouts in the Iraqi mountains near Iran, leftist Kurdish rebels say they are ready to fight the Islamic republic, but hope for an uprising before they intervene, with or without US support.

The Kurdish minority in Iraq has come under Iranian fire in recent days.