Iran Deploys Special Forces to Kurdish Border Regions

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has deployed artillery, heavy weaponry, and special forces to the northwest Kurdish regions of Iran bordering Iraq. This military buildup includes the dispatch of the Saberin Unit to the Shaho Mountains, occurring as Tehran prepares for potential wider conflict with Israel and the United States.

Simultaneously, Iran is conducting a crackdown on a coalition of Kurdish Iranian opposition groups, including the Kurdistan Free Life Party, the Kurdistan Freedom Party, PDKI, Komala, and Khabat. Recent operations involved drone strikes on a Kurdistan Freedom Party camp near Mount Harir in Iraq and attacks in Marivan.

Tehran has demanded that Iraq expel these opposition groups, with the Iranian ambassador to Iraq stating that Baghdad has agreed to the request. The military escalation is partly a response to reports that the United States and Israel may arm Kurdish groups under Operation Epic Fury to increase pressure on the Iranian government.