Defying the US: Iran deployed ground forces against the Kurds in Iraq
Units of the 23rd Airborne Brigade of the Iranian army participated in a series of raids against rebels, while talks with the Americans were ongoing. During Operation "Lion's Roar," the possibility was raised that Kurdish forces would be used to topple the regime in Tehran, and now Tehran is taking revenge on its opponents without American interference.
Iranian military advisor Mojtaba Jafari announced that the 23rd Airborne Special Forces Brigade carried out 14 ground operations in the Sulaymaniyah and Erbil regions of Iraqi Kurdistan over the past two months.
According to Jafari, some of the operations took place in recent days, during a period when Iran was holding talks with the United States. Jafari stated that Iranian forces kidnapped two Kurdish activists from Sulaymaniyah yesterday.
According to Jafari, several Kurdish opposition activists were killed and others were captured during the operations, while the brigade suffered no casualties. The 23rd Airborne Brigade, known as "Takavar," is the largest special forces unit of the Iranian army and is not subordinate to the command of the IRGC's Quds Force, which is primarily responsible for the Islamic Republic's covert activities in foreign countries.
The brigade was established as a reconnaissance and commando force, but its capabilities were upgraded to include airborne operations, and it utilizes old US-made "Bell" helicopters. The brigade includes five battalions and likely operated on a limited basis during the Syrian Civil War.
This is an ongoing retaliatory operation by the Iranian authorities that began after the possibility of using forces from the Iranian Kurdish underground, based in the Kurdish autonomy in northern Iraq, to invade Iran and topple the ayatollah regime was raised during Operation "Lion's Roar." US President Donald Trump later spoke out against the Kurds, claiming they "stole" weapons that had been transferred to them to arm the Iranian opposition.
