The Iranian military has launched attacks on the headquarters of Iranian Kurdish forces in northern Iraq, escalating tensions in the region. Reports indicate that Tehran has intensified operations against Kurdish groups in both Iran and Iraq, as Kurdish officials claim that dissident groups based in northern Iraq are preparing for a potential cross-border military operation into Iran.
Kurdish officials told the Associated Press that the United States has asked Iraqi Kurds to support these dissident groups, raising fears of a wider confrontation. Meanwhile, missiles and drones flying from the direction of Iran fell near the airport in the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan, according to a source close to the government. The airport is located about six miles from the Iranian border.
The attacks come amid claims of a US-Israeli plot against Iran, following a wave of strikes by the US and Israel that killed Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran retaliated with a barrage of missiles and drones, including one that hit a UK Royal Air Force base in Cyprus. The defence secretary, John Healey, has flown to Cyprus to address the diplomatic fallout.
In a separate incident, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that a US oil tanker in the northern Persian Gulf was struck by an Iranian missile. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has previously stated it controls the Strait of Hormuz and has effectively closed it to oil and gas exports, prompting US President Donald Trump to threaten naval escort operations.
