Babaseikh Hosseini tells Al Jazeera “there is a high probability of action” as the IRGC announces attacks on rebel targets in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region.
Published March 7, 2026
The leader of an Iranian Kurdish nationalist group based in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq told Al Jazeera that it is “very likely” that Iranian Kurds will carry out a cross-border ground operation into Iran.
Babasheikh Hosseini, secretary general of the Khabat Organization of Iranian Kurdistan, said on Friday that there was no operation “at this time” but that the United States had contacted the group and was considering a campaign.
Recommended stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
“We have been planning for a long time, and now that conditions are more favorable, there is a high probability of action,” Hosseini told Al Jazeera from the Kurdish region.
“We still have to make a decisive decision, but it is very likely that we will move forward with a ground operation,” Hosseini added.
The rebel leader concluded: “The Americans have contacted us through various channels, but so far we have not met directly, but they contacted us.”
Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Saturday it had attacked “separatist groups” in the Kurdish region, as the US-Israel war against Iran entered its second week.
“Three locations of separatist groups in the Iraqi (Kurdistan) region were attacked…this morning,” the IRGC said in a statement carried by the Tasnim news agency.
“If separatist groups in the (Kurdistan) region take any action against Iran’s territorial integrity, we will crush them.”
“Iraqi territory should not be a starting point”
The reported attack took place hours after the Iraqi government and the semi-autonomous Kurdish regional government said on Friday that Iraq should not be a launching pad for attacks on neighboring countries, following reports that fighters could try to cross into Iran.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and Kurdistan Regional President Nechirvan Barzani agreed in a phone call “that Iraqi territory should not be used as a launching point for attacks against neighboring countries,” the prime minister’s press office said.
Tehran threatened on Friday to attack “all facilities” in the region if exiled Iranian Kurdish fighters were allowed into Iran.
Israel has been bombing parts of western Iran to support Iranian Kurdish fighters, three sources familiar with Israel’s talks with the factions told the Reuters news agency.
US President Donald Trump told Reuters on Friday it would be “wonderful” if they crossed the border.
“I think it’s wonderful that they want to do that, I would be totally in favor,” the president said.
Multiple attacks in Iraq
The IRGC statement also came hours after drones reportedly attacked airports and oil facilities in Iraq on Friday, and US-led troops shot down several drones over the Kurdish capital Erbil in the north of the country. A drone also attacked the Erbil Arjaan by Rotana hotel in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, security sources told Reuters.
Meanwhile, late on Friday, Baghdad’s international airport, which houses a US military base and diplomatic facility, “came under a series of attacks” with drones and missiles, a security official told the AFP news agency.
Another security source confirmed that there was a drone attack followed by a fire at the airport.
In the southern province of Basra, an oil facility housing foreign energy companies was attacked twice.
A security official in Basra told AFP on Friday night that “two drones were shot down over the Burjesia oil complex, but a third managed to get through” and attacked the site.
The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad said Friday that groups of Iran-aligned fighters could try to attack hotels frequented by foreigners in the Kurdish region, according to a post on X.
