diff --git a/pkg/cli/copy.go b/pkg/cli/copy.go
index 23adab608..0c522aa9a 100644
--- a/pkg/cli/copy.go
+++ b/pkg/cli/copy.go
@@ -56,17 +56,25 @@ func (a *ImageCopy) Run(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
+	if !a.AllTags {
+		// Check if the source argument matches the name of a local image, and use it if it does.
+		// If there is an error, ignore it and move on, treating the argument as a remote image name.
+		if _, err := c.ImageGet(cmd.Context(), args[0]); err == nil {
+			return a.copyLocalToRemote(cmd, c, args, creds)
+		}
+	}
+
 	source, err := name.ParseReference(args[0])
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	dest, err := name.ParseReference(args[1])
+	sourceAuth, _, err := creds.Get(cmd.Context(), source.Context().RegistryStr())
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	sourceAuth, _, err := creds.Get(cmd.Context(), source.Context().RegistryStr())
+	dest, err := name.ParseReference(args[1])
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -88,3 +96,25 @@ func (a *ImageCopy) Run(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 
 	return progressbar.Print(progress)
 }
+
+func (a *ImageCopy) copyLocalToRemote(cmd *cobra.Command, c client.Client, args []string, creds *credentials.Store) error {
+	dest, err := name.ParseReference(args[1])
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	destAuth, _, err := creds.Get(cmd.Context(), dest.Context().RegistryStr())
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	progress, err := c.ImageCopy(cmd.Context(), args[0], args[1], &client.ImageCopyOptions{
+		Force:    a.Force,
+		DestAuth: destAuth,
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	return progressbar.Print(progress)
+}
diff --git a/pkg/roles/roles.go b/pkg/roles/roles.go
index dc1d8c32a..625c796e6 100644
--- a/pkg/roles/roles.go
+++ b/pkg/roles/roles.go
@@ -123,6 +123,7 @@ var (
 				Resources: []string{
 					"images/push",
 					"images/pull",
+					"images/copy",
 					"containerreplicas/exec",
 					"secrets/reveal",
 				},