Why an uprising in Iran could be ‘unpredictable’

President Donald Trump said in a Reuters interview Thursday that if Iranian Kurdish troops based in Iraq wanted to cross the border and launch an offensive against Iran, it would be "wonderful" and he'd "be all for it."

The addition of the Kurds -- a ethnic group estimated to include between 25-45 million people mostly spread across Eastern Europe and the Middle East -- to the conflict in Iran "could be very, very unpredictable," retired Rear Admiral John Kirby told PBS News' Amna Nawaz.

Kirby, who served as White House national security communications adviser in the Biden administration, said he needs more clarity about the Trump administration's plans in Iran.

"I do worry a little bit about trying to foment an uprising when you clearly aren't going to be on the ground yourself to help direct how that goes," he said. "You're counting on another party here, who may be well-trained or not, to sort of take it in a direction that you're expecting it to go."

Watch more from the interview by tapping the link in our bio.

Sign up for Here's The Deal with Lisa Desjardins

Subscribe for exclusive content in our newsletters

PBS News podcasts

Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app

Find more from PBS News at

Subscribe to our YouTube channel