Ankara has urged Tehran to stop military action against Kurdish groups in Iran and Iraq, warning that continued strikes could push those groups toward Israel and jeopardize Türkiye’s domestic peace process with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), according to Middle East Eye, which cited sources familiar with the matter.
Background: A Warm Reception in Tehran
The message was conveyed following Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz’s visit to Tehran earlier this month for the funeral of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reportedly thanked Türkiye for helping prevent an Israeli-backed plan to foment an armed Kurdish insurrection in western Iran during the recent Iran-Israel war. Turkish officials had argued to their American counterparts that the plan — attributed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — was unworkable and posed a threat to Turkish national security.
Strategic Calculus, Not Just Goodwill
Sources told the outlet that Ankara’s concern is rooted in strategy as much as diplomacy. With Iran having bombarded camps belonging to the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) in northern Iraq since late February, Turkish officials fear that continued pressure could drive Iranian Kurdish opposition factions — including the PDKI, Komala, and the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) — into closer alignment with Israel, opening a new front in the Iran-Israel rivalry inside Iraqi Kurdistan.
That outcome would directly threaten Ankara’s own priorities. Türkiye is currently pursuing a sensitive peace process with the PKK, and parliament is set to introduce legislation Monday that would allow former PKK militants to return to Türkiye within six months as part of a broader reintegration roadmap. Turkish analyst Mehmet Alaca noted that any resurgence of the “Kurdish card” in regional power politics would undermine the security architecture Ankara is trying to build for the post-PKK era.
Balancing Kurdish Factions in Iraq
Ankara has also worked to manage rivalries between Iraqi Kurdish parties, courting the traditionally pro-Iranian Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which normalized relations with Türkiye through an official visit this month. Alaca said that despite their rivalry, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the PUK have both taken the position that Iranian Kurdish opposition groups should stay out of the Iran conflict — a stance that aligns with Ankara’s interest in regional stability.
