Iran said on Thursday it had carried out strikes against Kurdish groups based in Iraq, warning what it described as “separatist groups” not to exploit the widening regional conflict.
Tehran said the targets were Iraqi Kurdish factions it accused of being “opposed to the revolution”, according to Iranian state media.
The strikes killed one member of an exiled Iranian Kurdish group, a representative of the organisation said, without providing further details.
The attacks followed reports that the United States was considering arming Kurdish militias to infiltrate Iran, allegations that have heightened tensions between Tehran and Kurdish opposition groups operating from northern Iraq.
Iranian officials issued a warning to Kurdish factions following the strikes.
“Separatist groups should not think that a breeze has blown and try to take action,” Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.
“We will not tolerate them in any way,” he added.
Iran has previously accused Kurdish militant groups based in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region of launching cross-border attacks and fomenting unrest inside Iran.
Tehran has repeatedly threatened military action against those groups, saying it holds Iraqi Kurdish authorities responsible for preventing their territory from being used to stage attacks against Iran.