President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan persuaded U.S. President Donald Trump to abandon a plan to arm Iranian opposition groups and Iraqi Kurdish groups against Tehran after details of the proposal were allegedly leaked to Türkiye by officials within the White House, Israeli media outlets reported Friday.
Citing security sources, The Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli officials believed Washington would support the proposal because it could increase pressure on Tehran without requiring U.S. ground forces to enter Iran.
The report alleged that details of the initiative, which involved arming Iranian opposition and Iraqi Kurdish groups, were passed to Türkiye by certain White House officials. According to the claims, Erdoğan subsequently raised the issue with U.S. President Donald Trump and convinced him to cancel the plan.
Israeli sources reportedly accused U.S. Vice President JD Vance of leaking information about the proposal. However, Vance's special assistant and press secretary, Luke Schroeder, denied the allegation.
Under the reported plan, Israel would have provided not only a no-fly zone for Kurdish groups but also air support against Iranian forces attempting to halt their advance.
