Iranian Defense Council Warns Kurdistan Region: Infrastructure Could Be Targeted if Militants Cross Into Iran

Peregraf — Iran’s Defense Council has issued a sharp warning to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, saying all infrastructure in the region could become a target if militant groups are allowed to enter Iranian territory from Kurdish-controlled areas.

Ali Akbar Ahmadian, the representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader in the Defense Council, said the country’s armed forces have established a new deterrence equation across the region.

“Commanders of all ranks of the Armed Forces, in implementing adopted diverse, asymmetric, and intelligent defense strategies and programs, have crushed the positions of hostile American-Zionist enemies in complex and powerful operations and hold mastery over the entire region and the Persian Gulf; accordingly, a ‘new equation’ has been shaped by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Ahmadian said.

He also issued a direct warning to authorities in the Kurdistan Region.

“It is reminded to friends and brothers in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq that, until now, only American and Israeli bases and separatist groups in the Region have been targeted,” Ahmadian said.

“However, in the event of allowing the continued presence, plotting, or entry of these groups or regime elements through the Region into the borders of the Islamic Republic, all facilities of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq—as the rear guard of these groups and the regime—will be extensively targeted.”

He added that such a scenario would also end Tehran’s support for the Kurdistan Region during times of crisis.

“The friendly relations and unwavering support of the Islamic Republic for the Kurdistan Region during difficult days, such as the ISIS attack, will cease,” he said.

The warning comes as Iranian leaders continue to signal a firm stance toward Kurdish opposition groups operating from bases in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Late Thursday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said authorities would deal “decisively” with any separatist movements, remarks widely interpreted as directed at Iranian Kurdish opposition parties based in Iraqi Kurdistan.

In a message posted on X, Pezeshkian thanked residents of Iran’s Kurdish-populated areas for their support during what he described as “historic days,” while emphasizing the government’s security position.

“I express my gratitude to the brave and honorable people of Kurdistan who have stood by Iran during these historic days,” he wrote. “I share the grief of the families of the martyrs and those wounded in these incidents. The governor and the security-providing armed forces are duty-bound to deal decisively with any separatist movements.”

His comments come as the war involving the United States and Israel against Iran enters its seventh day, raising fears that the Kurdistan Region could be drawn into the widening regional conflict.

In recent days, the Kurdistan Region has been hit by a wave of drone and missile attacks. Security sources say more than 100 drones and missiles have struck various locations across the region in strikes attributed to Iran and armed factions aligned with the so-called “Islamic Resistance,” a network of Iran-backed groups operating in Iraq.

The repeated attacks have heightened concerns among Kurdish authorities that the Kurdistan Region could become entangled in a broader confrontation.

Earlier Thursday, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said the Kurdistan Region does not allow any party to use its territory to launch attacks against neighboring countries, including Iran.

Kurdish officials have repeatedly stressed that the region is not a party to the conflict and intends to remain neutral despite escalating tensions.

Security authorities in the Kurdistan Region have also increased coordination with the federal government in Iraq and tightened monitoring along border areas with Iran, where several Iranian Kurdish opposition groups maintain bases.

Caught between competing regional pressures, Kurdish authorities have sought to rely on diplomatic engagement, security coordination with Baghdad, and repeated assurances that the Kurdistan Region will not be used as a platform for attacks against neighboring states.

With both Washington and Tehran closely watching developments, the Kurdistan Region faces growing pressure to maintain stability while avoiding deeper involvement in the expanding regional conflict.