Armed Kurdish separatist groups sought to cross the border into Iran from Iraq, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, in a sign of foreign entities potentially seeking to take advantage of instability after days of crackdown on protests against Tehran.
The Iranian official said the IRGC had clashed with the Kurdish fighters, who the official said sought to create instability and take advantage of the protests © Mena Today
Armed Kurdish separatist groups sought to cross the border into Iran from Iraq, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, in a sign of foreign entities potentially seeking to take advantage of instability after days of crackdown on protests against Tehran.
The three sources, who included a senior Iranian official and who all spoke on condition of anonymity, said neighbouring Turkey's intelligence agency had warned Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) of the Kurdish fighters crossing the frontier in recent days.
The Iranian official said the IRGC had clashed with the Kurdish fighters, who the official said sought to create instability and take advantage of the protests. The Guards are an elite force that has suppressed previous bouts of unrest in Iran.
The Turkish intelligence agency MIT did not immediately comment on the issue, nor did the presidency in Ankara. Turkey, which deems Kurdish militants in northern Iraq terrorists, has warned in recent days that any foreign intervention in Iran would escalate regional crises.
The fighters had been dispatched from Iraq and Turkey, the Iranian official said, adding that Tehran has asked those countries to halt any transfer of fighters or weapons to Iran.
A rights group said 2,600 people have been killed in recent days in a crackdown on Iranian protesters opposing clerical rule and who have been urged on by the United States, which has threatened to intervene.
By Parisa Hafezi and Samia Nakhoul
Dozens of Iranians crossed the border into Turkey on Wednesday, as authorities in Iran crack down on one of the biggest ever waves of protest against the Islamic Republic's clerical rule.
Tehran has warned neighbouring countries hosting U.S. troops that it would retaliate against American bases if Washington carries out threats to intervene in protests in Iran, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday.
The death toll from unrest in Iran climbed to almost 2,600, a rights group said on Wednesday, as Tehran stepped up diplomatic contacts with U.S.-allies in the region over a crisis that has drawn threats of intervention from President Donald Trump.
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