Iran Strikes Kurdish Groups in Iraq as Regional Conflict Escalates

Fresh explosions were reported in Iran’s capital on Thursday as Tehran announced strikes against Kurdish groups based in Iraq, warning “separatist groups” against taking action amid a widening regional war.

The conflict, which began Saturday with US-Israeli strikes that martyred Iran’s supreme leader, has spread across the Middle East, triggering global economic disruptions, energy supply concerns, and travel chaos.

Iran’s retaliatory operations have targeted several Gulf neighbors hosting US military bases, while Israel has conducted strikes in Lebanon and repositioned forces along its border.

On Thursday, Iranian authorities stated they had attacked Iraq-based Kurdish groups “opposed to the revolution,” amid reports that the United States was considering arming Kurdish guerrillas to infiltrate Iran.

The strikes, which reportedly killed a member of an exiled Iranian Kurdish group, followed a warning from Iranian officials.

“Separatist groups should not think that a breeze has blown and try to take action,” said Ali Larijani. “We will not tolerate them in any way.”

Analysts say the strikes illustrate how the war initiated by the US and Israel is drawing multiple parties across the region into the conflict.

The escalation has already disrupted global markets. The head of the International Monetary Fund warned Thursday that the crisis would test global economic resilience “yet again.”

Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards have claimed the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world’s crude oil flows, reporting that oil tanker transits have dropped by 90 percent, according to market intelligence firm Kpler.

US officials, including Donald Trump, have offered varying justifications for the strikes, which were launched without explicit congressional approval, though the US Senate recently rejected a resolution aimed at limiting the president’s authority to continue operations.