Iran's Revolutionary Guards say they've attacked Israel's 'spy HQ' in Iraq

Iran's Revolutionary Guards have claimed strikes on the "spy headquarters" of Israel in Iraq and in Syria against Islamic State.

A Revolutionary Guard member stands guard in front of an Iranian-built missile displayed during a rally in support of Palestinians late last year. Source: AP / Vahid Salemi

Key Points

• The strikes come amid concerns about the escalation of a conflict that has spread through the Middle East.
• Iran had already vowed revenge for the killing of three members of the Guards in Syria last month.
• Iran, which supports Hamas in its war with Israel, accuses the United States of backing what it calls Israeli crimes in Gaza.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards say they attacked the "spy headquarters" of Israel in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, state media reports.

The elite force said they also struck in Syria against the Islamic State.

"In response to the recent atrocities of the Zionist regime, causing the killing of commanders of the Guards and the Axis of Resistance ... one of the main Mossad espionage headquarters in Iraq's Kurdistan region was destroyed with ballistic missiles," the Guards said in a statement.

Israeli government officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

In addition to Monday night's strikes at northeast of Kurdistan's capital Erbil in a residential area near the US consulate, the Guards said they "fired a number of ballistic missiles in Syria and destroyed the perpetrators of terrorist operations" in Iran, including the Islamic State.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for two explosions in Iran this month that killed nearly 100 people and wounded scores at a memorial for top commander Qassem Soleimani.

"We assure our nation that the Guards' offensive operations will continue until avenging the last drops of martyrs' blood," the Guards' statement said.

While recalling its envoy from Tehran, Iraq summoned Iran's charge d'affaires in Baghdad to protest against the strikes, the foreign ministry said. It said Baghdad would take all legal measures against what it called a violation of Iraq's sovereignty.

Since the 7 October rampage by Hamas fighters into Israeli territory and the ensuing Israeli bombing campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon, more than 130 fighters of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah have been killed in hostilities.

Teams carry out search and rescue operations after unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks in Erbil, Iraq on 16 January. Several explosions were reported in the vicinity of the US consulate in Erbil, with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) quickly claiming responsibility. Source: Getty / Karzan Mohammad Othman

The US State Department condemned the attacks near Erbil, calling them "reckless", but officials said no US facilities were targeted and there were no US casualties.

"We will continue to assess the situation, but initial indications are that this was a reckless and imprecise set of strikes," Adrienne Watson, spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, said in a statement.

Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani condemned the attack on Erbil as a "crime against the Kurdish people".

At least four civilians were killed and six injured in the strikes, the Kurdistan government's security council said.

Multimillionaire Kurdish businessman Peshraw Dizayee and several members of his family were among the dead, killed when at least one rocket crashed into their home, Iraqi security and medical sources said.

Dizayee, who was close to the ruling Barzani clan, owned businesses that led major real estate projects in Kurdistan.

Iran has in the past carried out strikes in Iraq's Kurdistan region, saying the area is used as a staging ground for Iranian separatist groups as well as agents of its arch-foe Israel.

Baghdad has tried to address Iranian concerns over separatist groups in the region, moving to relocate some members as part of a security agreement reached with Tehran in 2023.