IC Operations & Tradecraft — 2026-08-17

DNI Gabbard Used Kurdish Leader Barzani to Open Secret Back Channel to IRGC Commander Vahidi During Iran War Negotiations

BLUFWashington's dependence on a single Kurdish intermediary to confirm IRGC buy-in exposes the absence of any durable channel capable of sustaining negotiations through the next crisis.

Around May 10, then-DNI Tulsi Gabbard called Kurdistan Regional Government President Nechirvan Barzani with Trump's approval and asked him to reach IRGC commander Gen. Ahmad Vahidi to determine whether the Guard backed Iranian negotiators Ghalibaf and Araghchi 1. Barzani agreed, and on May 14 an IRGC official brought an encrypted phone to his Erbil office for a direct call, during which Vahidi said he and the IRGC supported the negotiators 1. Barzani relayed the response to Gabbard, who briefed the White House, which proposed secret US-Iran talks in Erbil; Iran declined, citing fears of Israeli assassination attempts, and the meeting never took place 1. Axios, citing three sources with direct knowledge, first reported the episode; the Times of Israel, Jerusalem Post, and Fox News relayed the account 234.

Analysis
IRGC primacy over Iran's civilian negotiators is now established: Ghalibaf's and Araghchi's authority proved contingent on Guard sign-off obtained only through a channel Barzani brokered. His re-emergence as the sole trusted Washington-Tehran conduit, absent any institutional alternative, leaves future contact hostage to one individual's standing with both governments. Tehran's refusal to send negotiators to Erbil over assassination fears suggests security guarantees, not substantive terms, are the primary obstacle to renewed talks. Ad hoc backchannels in place of a standing track leave Washington unable to verify who controls decisions in Tehran. Axios' single, uncorroborated line anchors the account; other outlets merely amplify it. The timing fits an authorized leak projecting engagement rather than a full picture of contested IRGC positioning.

4 sources

Scoop: Inside Trump's secret backchannel to Iran's Revolutionary Guard - Axios
US had secret backchannel with IRGC, learned it supports Iran's negotiators - report - The Times of Israel
Donald Trump used Kurdish leader Barzani as secret channel to Iran's IRGC, report says - The Jerusalem Post
Trump admin backchanneled with Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in push for deal: report - Fox News