At the same time, Iranian forces or those aligned with them are widely believed to have been carrying out attacks on Iranian Kurdish groups based in northern Iraq. "These attacks are part of the Islamic Republic's ongoing policy of targeting Iranian Kurdish opposition parties based outside Iran's borders," he said. The attacks raise questions about how great a threat the Iraq-based groups pose to the Islamic Republic. As with all previous claims, however, Kurdish groups in Iraq have denied any involvement in fighting in Iran, or that Trump had proposed any ground operation to them. Several Iranian Kurdish opposition movements, which Tehran generally considers to be terrorist groups, have operated for decades from bases in northern Iraq.