AFP, Ankara

Turkey’s defence ministry yesterday said it was “closely” following the actions of Kurdish militant groups over concerns they are being drawn into the war, reportedly by US-led efforts to destabilise Iran.

The conflict began on Saturday when US-Israeli strikes hit Iran, which retaliated with strikes across the region, with Tehran on Wednesday saying it had hit Kurdish militant groups based in Iraq.

The move came as reports suggested Washington was looking to arm Kurdish guerrillas to infiltrate Iran -- a move that would likely raise hackles in Turkey.

“We are closely following PJAK’s activities in Iran and regional developments,” the Turkish defence ministry said of an Iran-based Kurdish group which is an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdish militant PKK.

“Activities of groups like the PJAK terrorist organisation, which promote ethnic separatism, negatively affect not only Iran’s security but also the overall peace and stability of the region,” the ministry said.

“Turkey supports the territorial integrity of neighbouring states, not their fragmentation.”

On February 22, the PJAK (the Kurdistan Free Life Party) and four other exiled Kurdish groups announced a political coalition to seek the overthrow of the Islamic Republic and ultimately to secure Kurdish self-determination.

Spread across Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran, the Kurds are one of Iran’s most important non-Persian ethnic minority groups and have long supported anti-government protests in the Islamic Republic.

Turkey has been seeking to end its conflict with the PKK, which formally disbanded last year after four decades of violence that claimed some 50,000 lives. Although most PKK-linked groups embraced the call to disarm, the PJAK did not, with Ankara concerned any regional unrest could embolden recalcitrant Kurdish separatists.

In late January, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi that “the complete neutralisation of PJAK constitutes an urgent necessity for Iran’s security”.