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In response to this violation of territorial sovereignty, Baghdad will summon the Iranian ambassador. The Revolutionary Guard warns that the "operation will continue" until the "terrorist groups" are dismantled

Iranian attacks in Iraqi Kurdistan leave 13 people dead

Protests in Iran and their possible repercussions

Iran: at least 76 killed during protests over Mahsa Amini's death

Iran attacks Iraqi Kurdistan to distract attention from Mahsa Amini protests

Iranians revolt and put Iran's theocracy in check

AFP PHOTO/HO/KHAMENEI.IR - Members of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
Margarita Arredondas
Updated: 29/09/22

The death toll has risen to 13 following attacks by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards against Iraqi Kurdistan. Tehran accused Kurdish dissidents of taking part in the protests sweeping Iran following the killing of young Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini by the Morality Police for improperly wearing a headscarf.

Both the Kurdish and Iraqi authorities have condemned the Iranian aggression. The spokesman for the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, Ahmed Al-Sahhaf, said in a statement that he would summon the Iranian ambassador "urgently" to express Baghdad's rejection of this "violation of sovereignty".

Nechirvan Barzani, President of Iraqi Kurdistan, stressed in a statement that the region "should not be used as a battlefield to resolve disputes between rivals". He also urged the Iraqi government to "do its duty and protect the country and its territorial integrity".

In addition to several deaths, including a pregnant woman, the missile and drone attacks have also left more than 50 people wounded near Erbil and Sulaimaniya. According to Iraqi Kurdish sources quoted by Reuters, several military bases near the two cities were targeted in the Iranian offensive. A member of Komala, an Iranian Kurdish political party in exile, also told the news agency that its offices were attacked. 

The Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), also in exile, has been another target of the Revolutionary Guards. The KDPI, banned in Iran, described the attacks as "cowardly" and highlighted the inability of Tehran's "terrorist regime" to "suppress protests and silence the civil resistance of the Kurdish and Iranian people".

By contrast, US forces deployed in the region suffered no damage, as reported in a statement. They did, however, shoot down an Iranian drone heading towards Erbil, because, according to the US Army Central Command, the UAV posed a threat to US personnel in the area.

The US, as well as other countries such as the UK and Germany, have condemned Iranian attacks on Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity. In an effort to curb Tehran's destabilising activities in the Middle East, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has pledged sanctions and 'other measures' against the Iranian regime.

The Revolutionary Guard has already warned on Iranian state television that 'this operation will continue' until 'the bases of the terrorist groups are dismantled and the authorities in the Kurdish region assume their obligations and responsibilities'.

"Woman, life, freedom!"

12 days after the start of the protests, Iranian women and men continue to walk the streets of the country's cities under the cry of "woman, life, freedom!". Mahsa Amini has become a symbol against the brutal misogyny and extreme dress laws of the Iranian regime.

The young Kurdish woman's parents have filed a complaint demanding "a thorough investigation" and the release of "all videos and photographs" while she was in custody. A cousin of Amini's said that she died as a result of a "violent blow to the head".

According to international organisations, around 80 protesters have been killed. NGOs also denounce the use of metal pellets, tear gas and batons by security forces. Despite international calls for an end to violence against citizens, the Iranian police command has vowed to use "all its forces" against protesters.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has condemned the "chaos" caused by the protests, warning that "security is the red line" of the government. "No one can break the law and cause chaos," he said. 

Tehran has accused the US of provoking the protests. "The enemy has targeted national unity and wants to pit people against each other," Raisi said. The Iranian Foreign Ministry has also summoned the British and Norwegian ambassadors for "interfering" in internal affairs. Detained protesters have also been accused of being "Israeli spies" by security forces, witnesses told the BBC.

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