This is The Guardian.

This looks like it's a new front.

There are increasing suggestions that the Americans and Israelis

want to work with Kurdish forces on the ground in Iran.

It's difficult to know whether Trump and his advisers really have a sense of what they're

dealing with in terms of the complexities of Iran and Iranian society.

It feels like there's a very real risk.

This could collapse into something much worse for Iran, the Iranian people and the world at

large.

As the US and Israel looked at our militia groups

in Iran, could it spark civil war? From the Guardians today in focus, this is the latest with

me, Noshinqbal. Joining me today is the Guardian's deputy head of international news, Devika Bat.

Devika, thank you so much for joining us. Thanks for having me.

Now, from everything we're reading, this war is about to take on a dramatic new phase.

There's reports at the US and Israel about to arm fund Kurdish militia groups to launch an attack on Iran. Could you explain,

first of all, Devika, just how do the Kurds figure in this conflict? Yeah, sure. So yes,

you're right. This looks like it's a new front. And indeed, what we've seen happen today is

actually Iranian forces attack Kurdish territory in Iraq.

Preemptively? Well, so this feeds, I think, into what we think might be happening. So Tehran

is sort of saying it's hit Iraqi-based Kurdish groups, so huge waves of airstrikes, hitting

dozens of military positions, the frontier posts.

And yes, this comes as we think there are increasing suggestions that the Americans and Israelis

...