Iran carried out drone strikes against positions held by a Kurdish opposition group in northern Iraq on Sunday 25 October 2026, according to the Mehr news agency, in a reported operation that underlines how far Tehran's security actions now reach beyond its own borders. The strikes were reported as regional tensions remained high, with the United States warning of Iranian plots against its personnel and Gulf states on alert for further attacks by Iran-aligned forces.

What was reported in northern Iraq

Mehr's report, carried in live coverage of the regional crisis, described drone strikes on positions held by a Kurdish opposition group, but the material reviewed for this brief did not include an independently confirmed casualty figure or a detailed target list. Readers should therefore treat the specifics as reported rather than confirmed: Tehran has struck Kurdish opposition groups in northern Iraq before, arguing that they threaten its security, while Baghdad and the Kurdish authorities have repeatedly objected to cross-border operations. Any official Iranian statement or Iraqi response would clarify the scope of Sunday's reported action.

Pezeshkian's Moscow visit

Separately, Iranian media reported that President Masud Pezeshkian is set to meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, during a visit to Moscow next week. The timing matters: Russia is one of the few major powers still engaging closely with Tehran, and a presidential meeting would give both leaders a chance to coordinate positions on the war, on sanctions and on the Strait of Hormuz, through which much of the world's oil passes. Whether the visit produces anything concrete, or simply signals solidarity, will be clearer once the Kremlin and Tehran publish their accounts of the talks.