Tehran says PKK leader’s disarmament call leads to ‘renouncing violence’
Iran on Friday welcomed a call by jailed founder of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group Abdullah Ocalan to lay down arms, calling it a step toward “renouncing violence.”
In a major shift, Ocalan on Thursday said that “all groups must lay down their arms and the PKK must dissolve itself.”
The outlawed militant group, which has led a four decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state, declared an immediate cease-fire on Saturday, a news agency close to it said, heeding Ocalan’s disarmament call.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a statement on Friday that Tehran views the move as “an important step toward renouncing violence.”
He added that Iran “welcomes any process that leads to stopping terrorism and strengthening security in neighboring Turkey,” expressing hope that it “will also have positive effects in the region.”
The PKK is blacklisted as a “terrorist” organization by Turkey, the United States, the European Union and many other Western countries.
Earlier this month, Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib discussed “the fight against terror organizations, especially the PKK and Daesh,” during a meeting with visiting Turkish spy chief Ibrahim Kalin.
Iran has long accused various Kurdish militant groups of inciting unrest and carrying out operations within its borders.
In March 2023, Iran signed a security agreement with Iraq aimed at disarming Kurdish militants and removing them from border areas.