Iran says it will respond to US action against its drones in Kurdistan Region

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran on Saturday evening warned that it would not tolerate the continued presence of armed opposition groups in the neighboring Kurdistan Region, adding that it would respond to any US action against Iranian drones. 

Chief of Staff of Iran's armed forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri said that with the help of the US, the Kurdistan Region had become a “safe haven” for Iranian-Kurdish opposition groups, adding that this poses a threat to Iranian national security. 

The latest threat comes after the IRGC fired a barrage of missiles and drones on September 28, targeting locations deep inside the Kurdistan Region, killing at least 16 people including a pregnant woman and her baby. Following the attacks, the US Central Command said its forces had intercepted an Iranian drone launched towards Erbil without causing any casualties.

The top military official warned that Iran would respond to any attack by the US on Iranian drone, reiterating previous claims that it has information on the American bases in the Kurdistan Region. 

Last month, Bagheri strongly warned that should a hostile act that threatens Iran’s national security originate from the American bases, the Iranian military reserves the right to and “will definitely respond to these bases,” referring to US military installations in Erbil, Duhok, and Harir.

The latest warnings followed a meeting in Tehran between Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Iraq’s National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji. According to Iranian state media, Amir-Abdollahian reiterated that Tehran would not tolerate the presence of the groups in the Kurdistan Region, calling on Baghdad to take action to expel them. 

Rudaw’s Sangar Abdulrahman obtained information, from Iraqi and Kurdish officials who were present in the meeting, that Reber Ahmed, the Kurdistan Region’s interior minister, rejected a call by Amir-Abdollahian to disarm the Kurdish opposition groups, close their bases, and place them in refugee camps.

While expressing complete rejection for the top Iranian diplomat’s requests, Ahmed also refused to label the Kurdish opposition groups as “terrorist” organizations during the meeting. 

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Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has vowed to continue targeting the bases of Kurdish opposition and never cease striking “until all bases are dismantled,” launching a military operation against the opposition on Saturday codenamed “the Prophet of God,” a reference to Prophet Mohammed.
 
The Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), Komala, Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), and Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) all have forces inside Iranian cities. Iranian authorities have been in a state of panic since the opposition based in the Kurdistan Region called for a general strike across the Kurdish areas of western Iran on September 19, setting off the recent wave of unrest in the country.

Updated at 3:09pm