Türkiye prevented an invasion of Iran by Kurdish forces backed by Israel and the United States during the war with Iran earlier this year, Israeli publication i24News reported on Wednesday.
According to the report, Kurdish militias were ready to launch an attack on Iran, but the US stopped the operation due to pressure from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Senior Israeli sources who spoke to i24News said the Kurdish operation had been planned by US intelligence agencies for several months.
The sources declined to say the exact nature of any involvement by Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency.
They added that the preparations included meetings with Kurdish militia groups, the transfer of weapons to militants and military training.
New MEE Newsletter: Jerusalem Air Traffic Control
Sign up to receive the latest information and analysis
Israel-Palestine, as well as Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters.
The Kurdish militias received weapons a week before the planned attack, but by the time they were ready to launch the invasion, the US had vetoed the idea, sources said.
Israeli officials speaking to i24News accused US Vice President J.D. Vance of leaking details of the US-Israeli-backed operation to Turkey. They claimed that people close to Vance informed Ankara of the imminent Kurdish attack and that Turkish officials immediately took action to stop it.
Ankara has fought Kurdish separatists within its borders as well as in Iraq and Syria. The collapse of the central government in Tehran will create a new problem on its southeastern border.
Israeli contacts with Kurdish separatists
In March, the New York Times reported that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned US Secretary of State Marco Rubio against supporting the Kurdish operation in Iran.
The planned invasion was reportedly an important part of Israeli and US plans for regime change in Iran.
Separately, CNN reported in March that the CIA provided military support to Kurdish armed groups along the Iran-Iraq border for several months before the Israelis and the United States launched a joint attack on Iran in late February.
Israel’s largest oil refineries will undergo years of repairs after Iranian strikes, report says
Read more ”
Reuters also reported last March that Israeli intelligence had been in contact with Kurdish militias stationed on the Iran-Iraq border for a year before the war.
After the conflict began, Israel was reported to have bombed areas in western Iran to enable a Kurdish invasion, which never happened.
Meanwhile, low-level conflict between Iran and Kurdish armed groups continues.
Last week, Iran killed five members of the Iranian Kurdistan Democratic Party militant group in the northwest of the country. According to Iranian reports, Kurdish militias infiltrated Iranian territory near Piranshahr in West Azerbaijan province, where they were killed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The i24News report comes amid growing tensions between Israel and Turkey. Fidan told CNN Turk last week that “Israel is not just my problem; Israel is a world problem.”
There is growing concern in Israel about a possible conflict with Turkey, with Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli telling Israeli television channel Kan 11 on Thursday that a scenario in which Turkey attacks Israel is “quite possible.”
Channel 12 News reported Wednesday that Israeli security officials have warned the government about Turkey’s growing influence in Syria, Lebanon and other parts of the Middle East, saying Turkey is trying to create a “chokehold” around Israel.