Turkey’s defense ministry said Thursday that it is closely monitoring the activities of the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), an Iran-based Kurdish militant group, warning that such groups harm Iran’s security and regional stability.
Speaking at a weekly press briefing in Ankara, ministry spokesperson Rear Adm. Zeki Aktürk said Turkey supports the territorial integrity of neighboring countries and does not favor their division.
In that context, the ministry said groups that “fuel ethnic separatism,” including PJAK, “negatively affect not only Iran’s security but also the overall peace and stability of the region.”
The ministry said Turkey is tracking PJAK’s actions and developments in Iran in coordination with other state institutions.
PJAK is widely seen as an affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a militant group that has fought the Turkish state since 1984 and is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.
The ministry’s remarks came amid reports of contacts between Iranian Kurdish groups and Washington about whether and how to attack Iranian security forces in western Iran as the US and Israel fight Iran.
Turkey, a NATO member that borders Iran, is also pursuing a peace initiative with the PKK and has backed efforts to bring Syrian Kurdish armed groups into Syria’s state structures.