Iran carried out attacks targeting Kurdish Iranian opposition groups on Wednesday. Reports said that the Islamic Republic targeted a site linked to the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) in the Balisan Valley. This area is northeast of Erbil.
This latest strike follows a set of attacks in which Iran targeted the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), Komala, and the Khabat Organization in recent weeks. Iran is also pressing Iraq to expel Kurdish Iranian opposition groups.
Rebaz Sharifi, a PAK spokesperson, told Rudaw that “between two and four projectiles targeted the group’s positions at around 9:30 a.m. near the village of Hasanawa in the Balisan mountains.”
Sharifi told Rudaw that there were no casualties. Another security source also confirmed the attack. The source believed Iran used two Hadid-110 drones in the attack. It is unclear whether this is accurate.
“At least one strike hit the western side of Bani Harir mountain 70 km northeast of Erbil, according to a resident of a nearby village,” Rudaw reported.
Iran’s Ambassador to Iraq Mohammad Kazem Al-Sadegh wrote on social media on Tuesday that Iran and Iraq had agreed that Iraq would expel the Kurdish opposition groups.
The groups have rejected this. Meanwhile, Iraq’s National Security Council did not mention it in recent meetings. Iran appears to be signaling that it wants Iraq to act.
PAK fighting against Iran for Kurdish self-determination
PAK is an Iranian Kurdish opposition group that has operated for decades from Iraq’s Kurdistan Region. The group advocates Kurdish self-determination and has maintained an armed fighting force. Its fighters gained fame during the war against ISIS in Iraq, when they fought alongside Kurdish Peshmerga forces in some of the most exposed front lines.
In February 2026, PAK joined four other Iranian Kurdish opposition groups in announcing a new coalition. The new coalition includes the PDKI, the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), the Khabat Organization of Iranian Kurdistan, and a branch of Komala. Later, a second Komala branch joined.
Iran has carried out more than 1,000 attacks on the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq since February. Reports in March indicated the US might support a Kurdish uprising or transfer arms via Kurds to resistance groups in Iran.
Meanwhile, other Iranian opposition groups have slammed Kurdish groups as “separatists.” Many Kurdish groups have exercised caution regarding an uprising.
In recent weeks, Tehran has launched increased operations against PJAK in Iran, targeting the Shaho mountains and areas near the border.
The Islamic Republic has also continued targeting Iranian Kurdish opposition groups in northern Iraq with drones and missiles. On Saturday, October 17, two drones launched from Iran struck a Komala base in the Balisan area of the Erbil Governorate, according to Rudaw. One drone hit the base, and another struck a guard post. Buildings were damaged, but no casualties were reported.
On Monday, October 12, the PDKI said an Iranian drone targeted its Azadi Camp near Koya, where families of party members live. The group said this was the third attack on the camp in two weeks.
On Thursday, October 8, a drone also targeted a residential complex in the Khabat District north of Erbil, with no casualties reported. Khabat here refers to the district, not necessarily the Kurdish opposition organization.
Iraq, Kurdistan Regional Government reach new agreement
There are other developments. Iraq and the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have reached a new agreement.
“The Ministry of Martyrs and Anfal Affairs in the KRG announced on Tuesday that it has reached understandings with the federal government to unify financial entitlements for the families of martyrs and for political prisoners in the Kurdistan Region. These entitlements are to be included in the federal general budget bill for 2027,” Iraq’s state-led Iraqi News Agency (INA) said.
Rudaw, reporting on what is said a monitor had told the news agency, noted that “the Kurdistan Region’s internal political rivalries and institutional paralysis have weakened its bargaining position with Baghdad and accelerated the erosion of its federal powers.”
Meanwhile, a KDPI official told Rudaw that “the party would not lay down its weapons or abandon its struggle for Kurdish rights.”
The source added that the party had rejected “Tehran’s demands the same day after Iran claimed Baghdad had agreed to expel Iranian Kurdish opposition groups or hand them over to the Islamic Republic.”
An Iraqi source has denied any agreement to expel the groups.
In Turkey, Nationalist Movement Party leader Devlet Bahceli mentioned the PJAK group, Rudaw said in a report.
He said that it was important to create a “terror-free” region. The PJAK is linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Turkey and the PKK have a new peace process. The PJAK is not involved in this process, which concerns Turkey.