Iran bombs Kurds in Iraq to ‘protect national security’
Unsatisfied with only its blatant political interference in
Iraq’s internal affairs, Iran has escalated the situation by bombing the
Kurdistan Region, claiming to chase Kurdish separatists holed up in the
region’s mountains. Tehran even mobilized Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) forces on
its borders with the region and threatened a major ground attack.
Iraqi Kurds
Iranian television broadcast pictures of the preparations in
the Marivan border region, including a number of helicopters, artillery and
rocket launchers.
The commander of the IRGC infantry forces, Mohammad Pakpour,
stated that they targeted the headquarters and locations of opposition forces
inside Iraq and the Kurdistan Region as they have done in past years, adding
that they will continue to do so. He warned residents of the border areas in
Iraq of future attacks, asking them to stay away from the targeted parties
until the end the week.
Bloody clashes
Bloody clashes erupted Tuesday, June 23, between the IRGC
and the Kurdish opposition near the city of Urmia, the capital of Iran’s West
Azerbaijan Province, which has become accustomed to witnessing violent clashes
between the IRGC and Kurdish resistance forces in the Kurdistan and Kermanshah
provinces, including the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI), the
Kurdistan Democratic Party, the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, and the Kurdistan
Free Life Party (PJACK).
Military build-up
The confrontations flared up after Iran mobilized forces in
the border villages of Marivan, where it established large military bases,
expelled shepherds, launched aircraft, and shelled Kurdish areas inside Iraq
with artillery.
The Iranian move comes at a time when Turkey continues its
military operation against Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) bases in the Kurdistan
Region of northern Iraq, despite Baghdad summoning the ambassadors of Turkey
and Iran to protest against both countries' violations of Iraqi sovereignty.
Iraqi fears
Fears are growing among Iraqi circles of the expected
Iranian ground invasion, especially as it coincides with a broad popular
movement to prosecute Iranian militias for crimes committed in Iraq. Following
the election of new Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, activists launched
a widespread campaign on social media to demand the government to reveal the
fate of those kidnapped by sectarian death squads and their places of detention.
Kadhimi was the head of the intelligence service at a time when terrible crimes
took place along sectarian lines in which Tehran’s military arms were involved,
including the IRGC-affiliated Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) of mainly Shiite
militias.
The Iranian regime accuses the Kurdish factions of calling
for secession and terrorism, but the factions respond by accusing the regime of
violating the rights of their ethnic people, adding that their goal is merely
to defend their legitimate rights.
