For the past few weeks, a string of curious and deadly events has been taking place in Eastern Kurdistan. Salafi extremists have long been rumored to be operating inside Kurdistan with Iran’s support. It came as no great surprise to long-time observers, either, Iran sent tanks across the border.
No, of greater importance are the spate of killings in Urmye, Bokan and Jwanro. These areas are either squarely inside Iran or Kurdistan, depending on who you ask. Starting in September, members of the moderate Kurdish opposition reported five members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) “wearing Kurdish cloths” had been shot. A week prior, a member of IRGC reportedly operating in Urmye also lost his life. This is notable in that Iran’s clandestine services are adept at counter-surveillance.
So what’s happening in Rojhelat, as the Kurds call it? It is likely these IRGC personnel were being surveilled by Kurdish forces before their death. This is predicated on extensive personal experience.
In August, reports surfaced Iranian Pasadran were deployed to Kirkuk, territory regarded as Kurdistan by Kurds and ‘disputed territory’ by everyone even before Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) advances. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, or PUK, under Jalal Talibani is notoriously preferential to Iranian interests and while not representative of all Kurdish sentiments, exercises significant control in Kirkuk and ‘disputed’ Iraqi provinces just outside Kurdistan. It is unlikely they were killed by the PUK.
To the moderate Kurdish opposition forces of PJAK, the Free Life Party of Kurdistan, and the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, or PDK-I, make no mistake: this is definitely Kurdistan and if you are Persian, you are not welcome. In fact, PDK-I regularly draws comparisons between ISIL and Iran on social media.
Iranian backed Shia militias beheading their opponents in Iraq. No difference between ISIS and #Iran & its cronies: https://t.co/21E6sobiXD
— PDKI (@PDKIRAN) September 6, 2014Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian recently proclaimed Iran “would not wait for any international coalition to fight against terrorism”. Additionally, Amir-Abdollahian stated the international summit to combat the threat of ISIL being held in Saudi Arabia this past Sunday “a show”.
Iran maintains a sizable paramilitary presence in Eastern Kurdistan, to include information warfare and direct action elements of Qods Force. Also present inside Iraq but lesser known are Iran’s IRGC-Saberin, the special operations forces of IRGC Ground Forces (IRGC-GF). Saberin are a highly agile and flexible force, capable of executing cross-border operations lasting weeks at a time with a limited logistical tail. The first Iranian casualty inside Iraq in engagements with ISIL this fall was a from a Saberin element.
In 2009, local Iranian media reports said the Ayatollah [Khamenei] ordered the formation of Saberin units in the late 20th century, with a specific mandate to go on the offensive against Sunni elements, even boasting Saberin would be operationally postured “to hunt the enemy outside [Iran’s] borders.”
Iran is petrified of the situation on the ground, as evidenced by this BBC Persian report:
this new situation has fueled an unprecedented new cosmetic particularly among the various forces in the four countries, Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran […] resistance units with Kurdistan Regional Government consent entered into battle with forces of the Islamic State.
Traditionally, IRGC’s subordinate ground units in concert with autonomous elements of Qods Force have focused on practicing to seize key terrain, airfields, storage and fuel facilities, and capturing or killing adversaries to Iran. Saberin personnel have conducted offensive operations against PJAK, the moderate Kurdish opposition group on Iran’s west border. Saberin and MOIS [intelligence] personnel are also rumored to be combating the People’s Resistance Movement of Iran, on Iran’s border with Afghanistan.
Mohsen Karimi has commanded the Saberin for approximately 18 months.Before assuming command of the Saberin, Karimi’s area of responsibility were the Diyala, Wasit, and Maysan provinces inside Iraq. Recent events along the eastern border of Kurdistan could be a sign Iran is a taking a more active role in shaping conditions than previously believed. Iranian information warfare and paramilitary activities inside Iraqi Kurdistan could endanger US and NATO personnel in or on their way to Kurdistan.
From a human rights standpoint, there’s a long history of Iranian forcescapturing and killing Kurds in what Kurds call Rojhelat. Clandestine actions perpetrated by Iran would complicate efforts to unify and sustain a moderate Kurdish opposition.
The introduction of IRGC-GF—Ground Forces, not unlike America’s 82nd Airborne, as opposed to the plainclothes and nominally clandestine QodsForce, or IRGC-QF—could be a precursor to conventional Iranian military activities inside Iraq. This would be a significant escalation particularly in light of the ongoing nuclear talks and Iran’s history of targeting US and UK personnel for death by assassination.
Policymakers, observers, and media organizations should be aware IRGC maintains a robust military deception capability, and will not hesitate to disavow and deceive to maintain operations security. In other words, even flat-out denials from Iran are rarely a denial; it is a deception cycle, running in perpetuity, intended to deceive heads of state and journalists alike.
Is Iran sending paramilitaries into Kurdistan to spur destabilization, as its partner has done in Ukraine? It is unlikely we will know until Iranian personnel are captured by the moderate Kurdish opposition.
@PDKIRAN only the Kurds can bring down the murderous Mullahs of Iran!! Long live Peshmergas from All of Kurdistan!
— Ibo (@Ibrahim_Ariyan) August 16, 2014
