Türkiye has said it is “closely monitoring” the movements of the so-called Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) following U.S. calls for local Kurdish militias to join the ongoing regional conflict against Iran.
Based in the mountains of northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, PJAK is the Iranian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Ankara - along with Brussels and Washington - regards as a terrorist group.
At a Thursday press briefing, a spokesman for the Turkish defence ministry reaffirmed Ankara’s respect for the territorial integrity of neighbouring states.
“The activities of structures that fuel ethnic separatism, such as the terrorist organisation PJAK, negatively affect not only the security of Iran but also the broader peace and stability of the region,” he said.
The spokesman added that the defence ministry was “closely monitoring” PJAK’s movements in coordination with other Turkish state agencies.
According to sources cited by Reuters, Kurdish separatist groups are in consultation with Washington about whether - and how - to attack Iranian security forces deployed in western Iran.
On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would support an armed offensive against Iran by Kurdish groups operating in the region.
“I think it’s wonderful that they want to do that,” he said. “I’d be all for it.”
On the same day, Iran’s intelligence ministry said Iranian forces had inflicted “heavy losses” on Iraq-based “separatist groups” seeking to breach Iran’s western border.
The ministry added that security forces were cooperating with pro-government Iranian Kurds to thwart what it described as an “Israeli-American” plan to carry out attacks on Iranian territory.
Iran’s state-run Tasnim news agency, meanwhile, denied reports that armed Kurdish groups had succeeded in crossing the border from northern Iraq.
Over the past three days, several militant camps in northern Iraq’s Kurdish region have been struck by Iranian missiles and drones, according to local security sources and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.
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A U.S. submarine strike sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, leaving at least 80 dead, the country’s deputy foreign minister said. Meanwhile, Iran postponed the funeral of its late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, according to state media.
Türkiye and Iran have suspended day-trip passenger crossings at their shared border, Türkiye's trade minister said Monday, as a U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran entered its third day.
Turkish state broadcaster TRT reported on Thursday (29 January) that six people had been arrested by Turkish authorities for allegedly conducting espionage activities inside Türkiye.
The Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) and the Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) on Sunday dispatched 11 trucks carrying humanitarian aid.
In an exclusive interview with AnewZ, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the Islamic Republic is "not targeting neighbouring countries," amid reports of drone strikes on Nakhchivan International Airport on Thursday (5 March).
Trump tells Axios he wants direct involvement in who takes over as Iran's next leader, rejecting Khamenei's son as "unacceptable" and citing the need for a figure who can bring "peace and harmony".
Officials in Azerbaijan have said they have stopped terror attacks in Azerbaijan including on an Israeli Embassy, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and a Synagogue. Tensions between regional and global powers escalate. Military activity, security alerts and travel disruptions continue.
Türkiye and Iran’s foreign ministers spoke by phone after reports that a ballistic missile entered Turkish airspace, with Tehran denying responsibility and insisting its recent strikes targeted only U.S. and Israeli facilities.
China has called on Afghanistan and Pakistan to resolve their growing border dispute through dialogue and diplomatic channels, as clashes between their security forces entered a seventh day and left more than 160 people dead or injured, according to the United Nations.
U.S. President Donald Trump has demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender,” almost a week into the conflict with Tehran. Trump made the comments on social media on Friday (6 March), hours after the Iranian president said unspecified countries had begun mediation efforts.
The Israeli military says it has destroyed an underground bunker beneath Iran’s leadership complex in Tehran that it claims was built for former supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
Key humanitarian air, sea and land routes are being constricted by disruption from the war in the Middle East, delaying life-saving shipments to some of the world's worst crises, 10 aid officials have told Reuters.
Countries and international organisations have widely condemned Iran’s drone attack on civilian infrastructure in Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic on 5 March, expressing solidarity with Baku and denouncing the aggression. Three drones hit the area at the airport and near a school.
Iran's Provisional Leadership Council has been given new constitutional powers by the State Expediency Council to assign or remove military commanders and to declare war or peace, local media reported quoting the Expediency Council's spokesman.
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