ANKARA: The chief of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps said on Thursday that Tehran’s missile attack on an Iranian Kurdish rebel base in northern Iraq last week was a warning to hostile powers, Iranian state television reported.
The Guards fired seven missiles at the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), an armed opposition group that fights for greater autonomy for Iran’s Kurdish community.
Iranian media said at least 11 people were killed.
“The attack against the terrorists in Iraq’s Kurdistan conveys a message to the enemies, particularly those superpowers who think they can impose their evil plots on Iran and bully us,” state TV quoted Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari as saying.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to destroy US military bases across the Middle East and target Israel within minutes if attacked by the United States and its regional allies.
“All those who have forces, bases and equipment within a 2,000 km (1,200 mile) radius should know that our missiles are highly precise.”
Israel sees Iran’s regional influence and involvement in conflicts from Yemen to Syria as a threat to Israel’s own existence.
The tension between Tehran and Washington, foes for decades, has heightened since May, when President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of a 2015 international nuclear deal with Tehran.
France’s Foreign Ministry “strongly condemned” the missile strikes and said it was worried by Iran’s activities, notably its missile development.
In August, Washington reimposed sanctions on the acquisition of US dollars by Iran, and its trade in gold and precious metals. The sanctions were among those lifted under the deal in exchange for Tehran curbing its nuclear program.
In November, heavier US sanctions are expected on Iran’s oil sector, a lifeline of its economy. Washington has urged Iran’s oil buyers to cut their imports of Iranian crude to zero. Iran has denounced the call as “nonsense.”
The European Union, China and Russia, all parties to the nuclear pact, are working to maintain trade with Iran, which has threatened to stop complying with curbs on its nuclear work if it fails to see the economic benefits of relief from sanctions under the deal.
Iran says missile attack on Kurdish dissidents a warning to hostile powers
Iran says missile attack on Kurdish dissidents a warning to hostile powers
- The Guards fired seven missiles at the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI)
- Iranian media said at least 11 people were killed
Afghan Taliban says Pakistan bombs Kabul in fresh escalation
KABUL: The Afghan government said on Friday that Pakistan had carried out fresh strikes on Kabul and several other provinces.
Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a post on X that Kabul, Kandahar, Paktia, Paktika, and some other areas, were targeted.
Pakistan has killed at least 641 Afghan Taliban operatives and injured more than 855 in the ongoing conflict between the two sides since last month, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday.
Islamabad has said its airstrikes, which have at times directly targeted the Afghan Taliban government, are aimed at ending Kabul’s support for militants carrying out attacks on Pakistan. The Taliban has denied aiding militant groups.
Fresh clashes between the two neighbors began on Feb. 26 after Afghanistan’s border forces launched attacks against Pakistani military installations. Kabul said the attack was in retaliation for Islamabad’s airstrikes earlier in February. Both forces have since then engaged in the worst fighting between them in decades.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have remained strained since the Afghan Taliban seized power in August 2021. Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks across the country in recent months that it blames on militants it alleges are based in Afghanistan. Kabul denies the allegations and insists that its soil is not used by militant groups for attacks against other countries.
While Afghanistan has voiced the desire for dialogue, Pakistan has repeatedly ruled out talks, saying it will continue targeting militant hideouts through “Operation Ghazab lil Haq” until Kabul desists from supporting militants.
