Iran Launches Missile Strikes on Kurdish Groups in Iraq

Iran’s military has carried out missile strikes targeting Kurdish opposition groups operating in neighbouring Iraq, according to reports from Iranian state media on Thursday.

The development was disclosed by the Iranian military leadership in Tehran, with the state news agency, Islamic Republic News Agency, reporting that three missiles were fired at the headquarters of the groups.

Footage released by the Iranian state-backed broadcaster, Press TV, purportedly showed the moment the missiles struck locations it described as bases of “anti-Iranian separatists.”

The attacks come amid rising tension in the region following reports by United States media that President Donald Trump was considering providing arms to Kurdish groups in a bid to stir resistance against Iran’s leadership.

However, the White House dismissed the reports, saying no such plan had been approved.

Despite the denial, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Trump had recently held discussions with Kurdish leaders in the region concerning the U.S. military base located in northern Iraq.

The Kurds are a large ethnic population estimated at about 30 million people, mainly spread across Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey.

For decades, Kurdish groups have agitated for an independent state, a campaign that has often placed them at odds with governments across the region.

Historically, Kurdish communities faced severe repression in several countries, including Iraq, Iran and Turkey.

The autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq was formed after the removal of former Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein in 2003, following a U.S.-led invasion that reshaped the country’s political structure.