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Iran Vows Decisive Response to Enemy Actions

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian
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Iran Vows Decisive Response to Enemy Actions

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian

Iran’s Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Mohammad-Reza Ashtiani warned on Tuesday the country would give a decisive, strong response to any miscalculation or mistake by enemies.

Ashtiani’s remarks follow Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian accusing Israel of “retreating from the battlefield and targeting civilians.”

During a press conference on Monday, Amir-Abdollahian said : “Resistance in the region is a reality.”

The minister, however, stressed that his country does not seek to expand the scope of the conflict in the region.

Amir-Abdollahian attempted to provide a comprehensive narrative of the ongoing war between Israel and Gaza.

He reiterated Tehran’s warnings about the widening of the war.

“The continued killing of civilians by the Zionists narrows the space for the forces of resistance in Palestine and the region,” said Amir-Abdollahian.

He expressed hope that the efforts of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the concluding statement of the recent Jeddah meeting would contribute to ending Israel’s crimes.

Amir-Abdollahian pointed out that Tehran had received US messages in recent days, speaking of at least two messages.

He explained that Washington does not want the war to expand and had called on Iran to exercise restraint.

On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron issued a warning to Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthi group in Yemen, cautioning them against “recklessly opening new fronts.”

This comes amid heightened alertness of US forces in the region to counter Iran-backed attacks.

The White House stated that in some instances, Iran “deliberately facilitates” missile and drone attacks by Tehran-backed groups on US military bases in Iraq and Syria.

US President Joe Biden has directed the Department of Defense to be prepared for further such attacks and respond appropriately, as reported by Reuters.

The agency also quotes a spokesperson from the US Department of Defense as saying that the US “has not observed any direct order from Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to attack US forces.”

On October 17, Khamenei had warned against the escalation of conflict in the region. He stated that no one would be able to halt the “forces of resistance” in the region if Israel’s crimes in Gaza continue.

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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".