ERBIL, Iraq — The leader of a major Iranian Kurdish party has vowed to gradually step up his group's fight against Iranian security forces, as the group ends almost two decades of a unilateral cease-fire with Iran after a series of recent clashes between the two sides.

The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan’s (KDPI) armed wing, known as the peshmerga, have clashed with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on at least five occasions over recent weeks, resulting in dozens of casualties on both the IRGC and KDPI sides — although both parties dispute the counts.

"Our forces are now moving around [in Iranian Kurdistan], making contacts with people, and are ready to act in self-defense only if attacked. But in future stages, our forces will move to the attack mode. This is a process that will gradually unfold," Mustafa Hijri, the KDPI secretary-general, told Al-Monitor. He said his forces have not yet initiated attacking IRGC units and only engaged in self-defense.

Hijri noted that his party's increased activity and military presence in the Kurdish areas of Iran is justified as the Iranian government "has stepped up pressure on Kurds and has not left space for meaningful civic or political work [inside the country]."