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Iran Discusses Islamic Jihad's Comprehensive Plan for a Strong Response

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met with the Secretary-General of the Palestinian movement of Islamic Jihad Ziad Nakhaleh (Iranian Foreign Ministry)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met with the Secretary-General of the Palestinian movement of Islamic Jihad Ziad Nakhaleh (Iranian Foreign Ministry)
    London, Tehran - Asharq Al-Awsat
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Iran Discusses Islamic Jihad's Comprehensive Plan for a Strong Response

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met with the Secretary-General of the Palestinian movement of Islamic Jihad Ziad Nakhaleh (Iranian Foreign Ministry)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met with the Secretary-General of the Palestinian movement of Islamic Jihad Ziad Nakhaleh (Iranian Foreign Ministry)

Iran said the Islamic Jihad movement has a comprehensive plan to direct a solid and effective response against Israel.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian held a telephone conversation with his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani on the latest developments in Gaza and the situation in the region.

"The Palestinian resistance has prepared a comprehensive plan to deliver a strong and effective response to the latest crimes by the Zionist regime," said Amirabdollahian.

The Iranian foreign minister also pointed to his contact with the secretary general of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement, Ziad Nakhalah.

Nakhaleh visited Tehran last Tuesday and met Amirabdollahian, among other Iranian officials. The Foreign Minister underlined Iran's determination to stick to its principled and unchangeable policy to support the Palestinian cause and the resistance of the Palestinian people against Israel's aggression and expansionist policies.

Nakhaleh praised Iran's powerful, effective, and constructive role in regional issues, expressing regret over efforts by some countries to pressure Iran.

The Islamic Jihad's secretary-general also presented a report on the latest developments in Palestine and said Palestinian groups must preserve their unity and solidarity to bolster the Islamic resistance of the Palestinian people.

IRGC-affiliated media quoted the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hossein Salami, as saying during his meeting with Nakhaleh: "We are with you on this path until the end – and let Palestine and the Palestinians know that they are not alone."

"The Israelis will pay yet another heavy price for their recent crime," he added, according to Tasnim agency. The commander of the IRGC's al-Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, said on Friday that at least 15 operations "are carried out against the positions of the al-Quds occupying regime (Israel) every day, as they (Zionists) have built fences even inside the settlements for fear of their lives."

Qaani asserted that Iran would by no means ignore the vicious and criminal acts of the enemies anywhere in the region.

He pointed out the constant decline of the Israeli regime. Nakhaleh also met with Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Wednesday.

The Palestinian official said Iran has a remarkable presence in the region and that the resistance forces in Gaza maintain their strength and capabilities. Iran's Supreme Leader's adviser Ali Akbar Velayati described the relations between Tehran and Islamic Jihad as "close and serious."

The state-run ISNA news agency reported that Velayati and Nakhaleh discussed the situations in Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and Turkey.

Nakhaleh reiterated that the enemies and the US had adopted a "very weak" policy in the face of Iran's influence, claiming that Tehran plays a very influential role in the region.

The Iranian media did not mention the objectives of Nakhaleh's visit to Iran. However, some reports indicated an increase in tension between Tehran and Tel Aviv and the possibility of Iranian nuclear facilities being subjected to an Israeli strike.

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Türkiye Presses PKK to Disarm ‘Immediately’

An Iraqi Kurdish woman waves a flag bearing the portrait of the founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan as people gather at Freedom Park to listen to an audio message by the jailed leader in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region on February 27, 2025. (AFP)
An Iraqi Kurdish woman waves a flag bearing the portrait of the founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan as people gather at Freedom Park to listen to an audio message by the jailed leader in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region on February 27, 2025. (AFP)
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Türkiye Presses PKK to Disarm ‘Immediately’

An Iraqi Kurdish woman waves a flag bearing the portrait of the founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan as people gather at Freedom Park to listen to an audio message by the jailed leader in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region on February 27, 2025. (AFP)
An Iraqi Kurdish woman waves a flag bearing the portrait of the founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan as people gather at Freedom Park to listen to an audio message by the jailed leader in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region on February 27, 2025. (AFP)

Türkiye on Thursday insisted the PKK and all groups allied with it must disarm and disband "immediately", a week after a historic call by the Kurdish militant group's jailed founder.

"The PKK and all groups affiliated with it must end all terrorist activities, dissolve and immediately and unconditionally lay down their weapons," a Turkish defense ministry source said.

The remarks made clear the demand referred to all manifestations of Abdullah Ocalan's Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has led a four-decade insurgency against the Turkish state, costing tens of thousands of lives.

Although the insurgency targeted Türkiye, the PKK's leadership is based in the mountains of northern Iraq and its fighters are also part of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a key force in northeastern Syria.

Last week, Ocalan made a historic call urging the PKK to dissolve and his fighters to disarm, with the group on Saturday accepting his call and declaring a ceasefire.

The same day, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that if the promises were not kept, Turkish forces would continue their anti-PKK operations.

"If the promises given are not kept and an attempt is made to delay... or deceive... we will continue our ongoing operations... until we eliminate the last terrorist," he said.

- Resonance in Syria, Iraq -

Since 2016, Türkiye has carried out three major military operations in northern Syria targeting PKK militants, which it sees as a strategic threat along its southern border.

Ankara has made clear it wants to see all PKK fighters disarmed wherever they are -- notably those in the US-backed SDF, which it sees as part of the PKK.

The SDF -- the bulk of which is made up of the Kurdish YPG -- spearheaded the fight that ousted ISIS extremists from Syria in 2019, and is seen by much of the West as crucial to preventing an extremist resurgence.

Last week, SDF leader Mazloum Abdi welcomed Ocalan's call for the PKK to lay down its weapons but said it "does not concern our forces" in northeastern Syria.

But Türkiye disagrees.

Since the toppling of Syria's Bashar al-Assad in December, Ankara has threatened military action unless YPG militants are expelled, deeming them to be a regional security problem.

"Our fundamental approach is that all terrorist organizations should disarm and be dissolved in Iraq and Syria, whether they are called the PKK, the YPG or the SDF," Omer Celik, spokesman for Erdogan's ruling AKP, said on Monday.

Ocalan's call also affects Iraq, with the PKK leadership holed up in the mountainous north where Turkish forces have staged multiple air strikes in recent years.

Turkish forces have also established numerous bases there, souring Ankara's relationship with Baghdad.

"We don't want either the PKK or the Turkish army on our land... Iraq wants everyone to withdraw," Iraq's national security adviser Qassem al-Araji told AFP.

"Turkish forces are (in Iraq) because of the PKK's presence," he said, while pointing out that Türkiye had "said more than once that it has no territorial ambitions in Iraq".