In the aftermath of the suicide bombing targeting pro-Kurdish activists in the Turkish city of Suruc last month, fresh conflict has erupted. The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has launched a series of attacks on Turkish targets, even as it continues to fight the Islamic State (IS). Meanwhile, Turkey, in coordination with NATO members and with US political support, has launched military intervention against both IS and the PKK in Iraq and Syria.

There has been another, less reported, dimension to this escalation of conflict; in recent weeks, there has been a series of attacks on Iranian targets in Turkey, including a passenger bus, gas pipelines and trains. In the latest development, an Iranian truck was attacked near the Bazargan border crossing with Turkey.

Meanwhile, the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), the Iranian offshoot of the PKK, has targeted Iranian interests inside Iran. In the most deadly incident, which took place outside the western city of Sanandaj earlier this week, five members of Iran’s paramilitary Basij force were reportedly killed. Moreover, last week, an Iranian police base and government offices in Marivan were targeted. PJAK claimed responsibility for this attack and said “20 Iranian soldiers were killed.” However, Alireza Ashnagar, deputy governor of Kurdistan province, has said that no police officers or soldiers were killed.

The attacks in Turkey have led Iran to halt natural gas exports, stop passenger train services to its western neighbor and warn its citizens against overland travel. However, Interior Ministry Director General Majid Agha-Babaie said "all the country's land borders ... including the one in Bazargan, are open and traffic is passing through."