Trump Meets Kurdish Leaders Amid Iran Airstrikes

President Donald Trump has held discussions with leaders of major Kurdish factions in Iraq as the United States and Israel continue airstrikes against Iranian military and political targets, raising the possibility of American support for Kurdish groups seeking to challenge the Iranian regime.

The strikes, which began on Saturday, have targeted key infrastructure, missile sites, and leadership figures in Iran, resulting in the deaths of approximately 40 top officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. U.S. officials described the operations as aimed at dismantling Iran's ballistic missile and drone capabilities, with no explicit goal of regime change. Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized this focus in a recent statement, saying the objective is to "destroy their ballistic missile capability and make sure they can't rebuild," while noting that a shift away from radical governance in Iran would be welcome but is not the primary aim.

On Sunday, one day after the bombing campaign started, Trump spoke by phone with Masoud Barzani and Bafel Talabani, leaders of Iraq's two largest Kurdish parties, according to multiple reports from U.S. officials. The conversations,...