Iranian Kurd leader in Iraq says ground operation into Iran ‘highly likely’ 

The leader of an Iranian Kurdish nationalist group based in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region has told Al Jazeera that it is “highly likely” that Iranian Kurds will stage a cross-border ground operation into Iran.

Babasheikh Hosseini, the secretary-general of the Khabat Organisation of Iranian Kurdistan, said on Friday that there was no operation “at this point” but the United States had made contact with the group and it was considering a campaign.

“We have been planning for a long time, and now that conditions are more favourable, there is a strong probability of action,” Hosseini told Al Jazeera from the Kurdish region.

“We have yet to reach a decisive decision, but it is highly likely we will move forward with a ground operation,” Hosseini added.

The rebel leader concluded: “The Americans have contacted us through various channels but until now, we have not met directly – but they contacted us.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Saturday that it had targeted “separatist groups” in the Kurdish region, as the US-Israel war on Iran entered its second week.

“Three locations of separatist groups in the Iraqi region (of Kurdistan) were hit … this morning,” the IRGC said in a statement carried by the Tasnim news agency.

“If separatist groups in the region [of Kurdistan] make any move against Iran’s territorial integrity, we will crush them.”

‘Iraqi territory must not a launching point’

The reported attack was carried out hours after the Iraqi government and the semi-autonomous Kurdish Regional Government said on Friday that Iraq must not be a launchpad for attacks against neighbouring countries, following reports that fighters might attempt to cross into Iran.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and Kurdistan’s regional president Nechirvan Barzani agreed in a phone call “that Iraqi territory must not be used as a launching point for attacks against neighbouring countries”, the premier’s media office said.

Tehran threatened on Friday to target “all the facilities” of the region if exiled Kurdish Iranian fighters were allowed to enter Iran.

Israel has been bombing parts of western Iran to support Iranian Kurdish fighters, three sources familiar with Israel’s talks with the factions told the Reuters news agency.

US President Donald Trump told Reuters on Friday it would be “wonderful” if they crossed the border.

“I think it’s wonderful that they want to do that, I’d be all for it,” the president said.

Multiple attacks in Iraq

The IRGC statement also came hours after drones reportedly struck airports and oil facilities in Iraq on Friday, and US-led troops shot down several drones over the Kurdish capital, Erbil, in the north of the country. A drone also targeted the Erbil Arjaan by Rotana hotel in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, security sources told Reuters.

Meanwhile, late on Friday, Baghdad International Airport, which houses a military base and a US diplomatic facility, “came under a series of attacks” with drones and missiles, a security official told the AFP news agency.

Another security source confirmed there was a drone attack followed by a fire at the airport.

In the southern province of Basra, an oil facility housing foreign energy companies came under attack twice.

A security official in Basra told AFP late on Friday that “two drones were shot down over the Burjesia oil complex, but a third got through” and hit the site.

The US embassy in Baghdad said on Friday that Iran-aligned fighter groups may seek to target hotels frequented by foreigners in the Kurdish region, according to a post on X.