This is a photo collection curated by AP photo editors.
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland grips the driver as he hits his tee shot on the 7th tee during a practice round for the British Open golf championship at the Royal Portrush Golf Club, Northern Ireland, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
President Donald Trump listens during a meeting with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Federal agents detain Carlos Javier Lopez Benitez, center, from Paraguay as they pull away his sister, Porfiria Lopez, a U.S. citizen, left, outside immigration court at the Jacob K. Javits federal building, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Youth from the Hoopa Valley Tribe run with a flag across a sandy stretch that separates the Klamath River from the Pacific Ocean on Friday, July 11, 2025, in Klamath, Calif. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)
Philadelphia Phillies Kyle Schwarber celebrates after winning the tiebreaker at the MLB baseball All-Star game between the American League and National League, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Spectators take photos of the riders during the eleventh stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 156.8 kilometers (97.4 miles) with start and finish in Toulouse, France, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Competitors swim past a drinks station during the women's 10km open water swim at the world swimming championships in Singapore, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Syrian Druze protest near the Israeli-Syrian border, as seen from the town of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, amid the ongoing clashes between Syrian government forces and Druze armed groups in the southern Syrian city of Sweida. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A mine detection rat with the humanitarian demining organization APOPO works in a landmine field in Siem Reap, Cambodia, Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
Vendors wait for customers next to the trunk of their American classic car stuffed with homemade crisps and bread, in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jorge Luis Baños)
Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, and Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard, cross the finish line hand-in-hand of the the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.3 kilometers (102.7 miles) with start in Ennezat and finish in Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Japan's women water polo team stand during national anthem before the match against Greece at the women's water polo preliminary round at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Jon Rahm of Spain plays out of a bunker on the 7th green during a practice round for the British Open golf championship at the Royal Portrush Golf Club, Northern Ireland, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Coastal police tow a dead whale off the shore of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)
Attorney General Pam Bondi leaves following a news conference at the Drug Enforcement Administration, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Starlings pick corn from a corn field in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Fireworks and drones illuminate the Eiffel Tower in Paris, during Bastille Day celebrations late Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Dark clouds hover over the White House as a front of rain moves through, Monday, July 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Hossam Azzam holds the body of his child, Amir, who was killed in an Israeli military airstrike on Gaza, at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Chelsea's Cole Palmer (10) scores his team's second goal past Paris Saint-Germain's goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma (1) during the Club World Cup final soccer match between Chelsea and PSG in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Chelsea pleayers celebrate with the championship trophy after the Club World Cup final soccer match between Chelsea and PSG in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Cadets from the elite engineers school Polytechnique march on the Champs-Elysees avenue during the Bastille Day parade, Monday, July 14, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
A new born chick looks out of the feathers of its mother at a farm in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A young girl runs past crosses at a make-shift memorial honoring flood victims, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A young girl runs past crosses at a make-shift memorial honoring flood victims, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Syrian Civil Defense teams and volunteers battle wildfire flames for the tenth consecutive day near the town of Kasab, in Syria's Latakia countryside, early Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Boniface Kariuki, a vendor who was shot at close range by a police officer during last month's protests, is laid to rest at his parents' farm in Kangema, Muranga County, Kenya, Friday, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Palestinians mourn a child killed in an Israeli military airstrike on Gaza, at the morgue of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Visitors walk past crosses at a make-shift memorial honoring flood victims, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Britain's Kate, Princess of Wales sits next to tennis legend Billie Jean King in the Royal Box on Centre Court ahead of the women's singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Italy's Jannik Sinner reacts after winning a point against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the men's singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Chelsea's Reece James, left, and Malo Gusto celebrate after defeating Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final soccer match in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
State Department employees applaud as their colleagues walk outside of the State Department headquarters in the Harry S Truman Building, Friday, July 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
President Donald Trump boards Air Force One, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Newark, N.J., en route to Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Children run in a fountain in St. Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
A model wears a creation by designer Alejandro Crocker at the Bogota Planetarium in Bogotá, Colombia, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
Local residents carry a big bag as they walk through a flooded road during monsoon rainfall, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
Young Icelandic foals play at a stud farm in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, as the sun rises on Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland grips the driver as he hits his tee shot on the 7th tee during a practice round for the British Open golf championship at the Royal Portrush Golf Club, Northern Ireland, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
President Donald Trump listens during a meeting with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Federal agents detain Carlos Javier Lopez Benitez, center, from Paraguay as they pull away his sister, Porfiria Lopez, a U.S. citizen, left, outside immigration court at the Jacob K. Javits federal building, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Youth from the Hoopa Valley Tribe run with a flag across a sandy stretch that separates the Klamath River from the Pacific Ocean on Friday, July 11, 2025, in Klamath, Calif. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)
Philadelphia Phillies Kyle Schwarber celebrates after winning the tiebreaker at the MLB baseball All-Star game between the American League and National League, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Spectators take photos of the riders during the eleventh stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 156.8 kilometers (97.4 miles) with start and finish in Toulouse, France, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Competitors swim past a drinks station during the women's 10km open water swim at the world swimming championships in Singapore, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Syrian Druze protest near the Israeli-Syrian border, as seen from the town of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, amid the ongoing clashes between Syrian government forces and Druze armed groups in the southern Syrian city of Sweida. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A mine detection rat with the humanitarian demining organization APOPO works in a landmine field in Siem Reap, Cambodia, Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
Vendors wait for customers next to the trunk of their American classic car stuffed with homemade crisps and bread, in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jorge Luis Baños)
Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, and Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard, cross the finish line hand-in-hand of the the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.3 kilometers (102.7 miles) with start in Ennezat and finish in Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Japan's women water polo team stand during national anthem before the match against Greece at the women's water polo preliminary round at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Jon Rahm of Spain plays out of a bunker on the 7th green during a practice round for the British Open golf championship at the Royal Portrush Golf Club, Northern Ireland, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Coastal police tow a dead whale off the shore of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)
Attorney General Pam Bondi leaves following a news conference at the Drug Enforcement Administration, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Starlings pick corn from a corn field in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Fireworks and drones illuminate the Eiffel Tower in Paris, during Bastille Day celebrations late Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Dark clouds hover over the White House as a front of rain moves through, Monday, July 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Hossam Azzam holds the body of his child, Amir, who was killed in an Israeli military airstrike on Gaza, at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Chelsea's Cole Palmer (10) scores his team's second goal past Paris Saint-Germain's goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma (1) during the Club World Cup final soccer match between Chelsea and PSG in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Chelsea pleayers celebrate with the championship trophy after the Club World Cup final soccer match between Chelsea and PSG in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Cadets from the elite engineers school Polytechnique march on the Champs-Elysees avenue during the Bastille Day parade, Monday, July 14, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
A new born chick looks out of the feathers of its mother at a farm in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A young girl runs past crosses at a make-shift memorial honoring flood victims, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A young girl runs past crosses at a make-shift memorial honoring flood victims, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Syrian Civil Defense teams and volunteers battle wildfire flames for the tenth consecutive day near the town of Kasab, in Syria's Latakia countryside, early Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Boniface Kariuki, a vendor who was shot at close range by a police officer during last month's protests, is laid to rest at his parents' farm in Kangema, Muranga County, Kenya, Friday, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Palestinians mourn a child killed in an Israeli military airstrike on Gaza, at the morgue of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Visitors walk past crosses at a make-shift memorial honoring flood victims, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Britain's Kate, Princess of Wales sits next to tennis legend Billie Jean King in the Royal Box on Centre Court ahead of the women's singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Italy's Jannik Sinner reacts after winning a point against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the men's singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Chelsea's Reece James, left, and Malo Gusto celebrate after defeating Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final soccer match in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
State Department employees applaud as their colleagues walk outside of the State Department headquarters in the Harry S Truman Building, Friday, July 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
President Donald Trump boards Air Force One, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Newark, N.J., en route to Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Children run in a fountain in St. Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Danny Westergaard runs as the sun rises during the Badwater 135 Ultramarathon, Wednesday, July 9, 2025, near Lone Pine, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Tents sheltering displaced Palestinians are seen amid war-damaged infrastructure in Gaza City, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Viktor Hovland of Norway plays his tee shot on the 6th hole during the first round of the British Open golf championship at the Royal Portrush Golf Club, Northern Ireland, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A Syrian Druze woman bids farewell to Druze relatives and friends from Israel before crossing back into Syria at the Israeli-Syrian border, in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights town of Majdal Shams, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A model wears a creation by designer Alejandro Crocker at the Bogota Planetarium in Bogotá, Colombia, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
Local residents carry a big bag as they walk through a flooded road during monsoon rainfall, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
Young Icelandic foals play at a stud farm in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, as the sun rises on Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland grips the driver as he hits his tee shot on the 7th tee during a practice round for the British Open golf championship at the Royal Portrush Golf Club, Northern Ireland, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
President Donald Trump listens during a meeting with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Federal agents detain Carlos Javier Lopez Benitez, center, from Paraguay as they pull away his sister, Porfiria Lopez, a U.S. citizen, left, outside immigration court at the Jacob K. Javits federal building, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Youth from the Hoopa Valley Tribe run with a flag across a sandy stretch that separates the Klamath River from the Pacific Ocean on Friday, July 11, 2025, in Klamath, Calif. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)
Philadelphia Phillies Kyle Schwarber celebrates after winning the tiebreaker at the MLB baseball All-Star game between the American League and National League, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Spectators take photos of the riders during the eleventh stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 156.8 kilometers (97.4 miles) with start and finish in Toulouse, France, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Competitors swim past a drinks station during the women's 10km open water swim at the world swimming championships in Singapore, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Syrian Druze protest near the Israeli-Syrian border, as seen from the town of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, amid the ongoing clashes between Syrian government forces and Druze armed groups in the southern Syrian city of Sweida. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A mine detection rat with the humanitarian demining organization APOPO works in a landmine field in Siem Reap, Cambodia, Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
Vendors wait for customers next to the trunk of their American classic car stuffed with homemade crisps and bread, in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jorge Luis Baños)
Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, and Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard, cross the finish line hand-in-hand of the the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.3 kilometers (102.7 miles) with start in Ennezat and finish in Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Japan's women water polo team stand during national anthem before the match against Greece at the women's water polo preliminary round at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Jon Rahm of Spain plays out of a bunker on the 7th green during a practice round for the British Open golf championship at the Royal Portrush Golf Club, Northern Ireland, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Coastal police tow a dead whale off the shore of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)
Attorney General Pam Bondi leaves following a news conference at the Drug Enforcement Administration, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Starlings pick corn from a corn field in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Fireworks and drones illuminate the Eiffel Tower in Paris, during Bastille Day celebrations late Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Dark clouds hover over the White House as a front of rain moves through, Monday, July 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Hossam Azzam holds the body of his child, Amir, who was killed in an Israeli military airstrike on Gaza, at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Chelsea's Cole Palmer (10) scores his team's second goal past Paris Saint-Germain's goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma (1) during the Club World Cup final soccer match between Chelsea and PSG in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Chelsea pleayers celebrate with the championship trophy after the Club World Cup final soccer match between Chelsea and PSG in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Cadets from the elite engineers school Polytechnique march on the Champs-Elysees avenue during the Bastille Day parade, Monday, July 14, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
A new born chick looks out of the feathers of its mother at a farm in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A young girl runs past crosses at a make-shift memorial honoring flood victims, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A young girl runs past crosses at a make-shift memorial honoring flood victims, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Syrian Civil Defense teams and volunteers battle wildfire flames for the tenth consecutive day near the town of Kasab, in Syria's Latakia countryside, early Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Boniface Kariuki, a vendor who was shot at close range by a police officer during last month's protests, is laid to rest at his parents' farm in Kangema, Muranga County, Kenya, Friday, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Palestinians mourn a child killed in an Israeli military airstrike on Gaza, at the morgue of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Visitors walk past crosses at a make-shift memorial honoring flood victims, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Britain's Kate, Princess of Wales sits next to tennis legend Billie Jean King in the Royal Box on Centre Court ahead of the women's singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Italy's Jannik Sinner reacts after winning a point against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the men's singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Chelsea's Reece James, left, and Malo Gusto celebrate after defeating Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final soccer match in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
State Department employees applaud as their colleagues walk outside of the State Department headquarters in the Harry S Truman Building, Friday, July 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
President Donald Trump boards Air Force One, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Newark, N.J., en route to Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Children run in a fountain in St. Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Click to Gallery
Federal agents detain Carlos Javier Lopez Benitez, center, from Paraguay as they pull away his sister, Porfiria Lopez, a U.S. citizen, left, outside immigration court at the Jacob K. Javits federal building, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Federal agents detain Carlos Javier Lopez Benitez, center, from Paraguay as they pull away his sister, Porfiria Lopez, a U.S. citizen, left, outside immigration court at the Jacob K. Javits federal building, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Federal agents detain Carlos Javier Lopez Benitez, center, from Paraguay as they pull away his sister, Porfiria Lopez, a U.S. citizen, left, outside immigration court at the Jacob K. Javits federal building, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland grips the driver as he hits his tee shot on the 7th tee during a practice round for the British Open golf championship at the Royal Portrush Golf Club, Northern Ireland, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
President Donald Trump listens during a meeting with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Federal agents detain Carlos Javier Lopez Benitez, center, from Paraguay as they pull away his sister, Porfiria Lopez, a U.S. citizen, left, outside immigration court at the Jacob K. Javits federal building, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Youth from the Hoopa Valley Tribe run with a flag across a sandy stretch that separates the Klamath River from the Pacific Ocean on Friday, July 11, 2025, in Klamath, Calif. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)
Philadelphia Phillies Kyle Schwarber celebrates after winning the tiebreaker at the MLB baseball All-Star game between the American League and National League, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Spectators take photos of the riders during the eleventh stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 156.8 kilometers (97.4 miles) with start and finish in Toulouse, France, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Competitors swim past a drinks station during the women's 10km open water swim at the world swimming championships in Singapore, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Syrian Druze protest near the Israeli-Syrian border, as seen from the town of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, amid the ongoing clashes between Syrian government forces and Druze armed groups in the southern Syrian city of Sweida. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A mine detection rat with the humanitarian demining organization APOPO works in a landmine field in Siem Reap, Cambodia, Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
Vendors wait for customers next to the trunk of their American classic car stuffed with homemade crisps and bread, in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jorge Luis Baños)
Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, and Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard, cross the finish line hand-in-hand of the the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.3 kilometers (102.7 miles) with start in Ennezat and finish in Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Japan's women water polo team stand during national anthem before the match against Greece at the women's water polo preliminary round at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Jon Rahm of Spain plays out of a bunker on the 7th green during a practice round for the British Open golf championship at the Royal Portrush Golf Club, Northern Ireland, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Coastal police tow a dead whale off the shore of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)
Attorney General Pam Bondi leaves following a news conference at the Drug Enforcement Administration, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Starlings pick corn from a corn field in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Fireworks and drones illuminate the Eiffel Tower in Paris, during Bastille Day celebrations late Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Dark clouds hover over the White House as a front of rain moves through, Monday, July 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Hossam Azzam holds the body of his child, Amir, who was killed in an Israeli military airstrike on Gaza, at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Chelsea's Cole Palmer (10) scores his team's second goal past Paris Saint-Germain's goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma (1) during the Club World Cup final soccer match between Chelsea and PSG in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Chelsea pleayers celebrate with the championship trophy after the Club World Cup final soccer match between Chelsea and PSG in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Cadets from the elite engineers school Polytechnique march on the Champs-Elysees avenue during the Bastille Day parade, Monday, July 14, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
A new born chick looks out of the feathers of its mother at a farm in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A young girl runs past crosses at a make-shift memorial honoring flood victims, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A young girl runs past crosses at a make-shift memorial honoring flood victims, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Syrian Civil Defense teams and volunteers battle wildfire flames for the tenth consecutive day near the town of Kasab, in Syria's Latakia countryside, early Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Boniface Kariuki, a vendor who was shot at close range by a police officer during last month's protests, is laid to rest at his parents' farm in Kangema, Muranga County, Kenya, Friday, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Palestinians mourn a child killed in an Israeli military airstrike on Gaza, at the morgue of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Visitors walk past crosses at a make-shift memorial honoring flood victims, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Britain's Kate, Princess of Wales sits next to tennis legend Billie Jean King in the Royal Box on Centre Court ahead of the women's singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Italy's Jannik Sinner reacts after winning a point against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the men's singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Chelsea's Reece James, left, and Malo Gusto celebrate after defeating Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final soccer match in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
State Department employees applaud as their colleagues walk outside of the State Department headquarters in the Harry S Truman Building, Friday, July 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
President Donald Trump boards Air Force One, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Newark, N.J., en route to Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Children run in a fountain in St. Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
A model wears a creation by designer Alejandro Crocker at the Bogota Planetarium in Bogotá, Colombia, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
Local residents carry a big bag as they walk through a flooded road during monsoon rainfall, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
Young Icelandic foals play at a stud farm in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, as the sun rises on Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland grips the driver as he hits his tee shot on the 7th tee during a practice round for the British Open golf championship at the Royal Portrush Golf Club, Northern Ireland, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
President Donald Trump listens during a meeting with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Federal agents detain Carlos Javier Lopez Benitez, center, from Paraguay as they pull away his sister, Porfiria Lopez, a U.S. citizen, left, outside immigration court at the Jacob K. Javits federal building, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Youth from the Hoopa Valley Tribe run with a flag across a sandy stretch that separates the Klamath River from the Pacific Ocean on Friday, July 11, 2025, in Klamath, Calif. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)
Philadelphia Phillies Kyle Schwarber celebrates after winning the tiebreaker at the MLB baseball All-Star game between the American League and National League, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Spectators take photos of the riders during the eleventh stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 156.8 kilometers (97.4 miles) with start and finish in Toulouse, France, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Competitors swim past a drinks station during the women's 10km open water swim at the world swimming championships in Singapore, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Syrian Druze protest near the Israeli-Syrian border, as seen from the town of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, amid the ongoing clashes between Syrian government forces and Druze armed groups in the southern Syrian city of Sweida. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A mine detection rat with the humanitarian demining organization APOPO works in a landmine field in Siem Reap, Cambodia, Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
Vendors wait for customers next to the trunk of their American classic car stuffed with homemade crisps and bread, in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jorge Luis Baños)
Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, and Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard, cross the finish line hand-in-hand of the the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.3 kilometers (102.7 miles) with start in Ennezat and finish in Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Japan's women water polo team stand during national anthem before the match against Greece at the women's water polo preliminary round at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Jon Rahm of Spain plays out of a bunker on the 7th green during a practice round for the British Open golf championship at the Royal Portrush Golf Club, Northern Ireland, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Coastal police tow a dead whale off the shore of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)
Attorney General Pam Bondi leaves following a news conference at the Drug Enforcement Administration, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Starlings pick corn from a corn field in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Fireworks and drones illuminate the Eiffel Tower in Paris, during Bastille Day celebrations late Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Dark clouds hover over the White House as a front of rain moves through, Monday, July 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Hossam Azzam holds the body of his child, Amir, who was killed in an Israeli military airstrike on Gaza, at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Chelsea's Cole Palmer (10) scores his team's second goal past Paris Saint-Germain's goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma (1) during the Club World Cup final soccer match between Chelsea and PSG in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Chelsea pleayers celebrate with the championship trophy after the Club World Cup final soccer match between Chelsea and PSG in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Cadets from the elite engineers school Polytechnique march on the Champs-Elysees avenue during the Bastille Day parade, Monday, July 14, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
A new born chick looks out of the feathers of its mother at a farm in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A young girl runs past crosses at a make-shift memorial honoring flood victims, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A young girl runs past crosses at a make-shift memorial honoring flood victims, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Syrian Civil Defense teams and volunteers battle wildfire flames for the tenth consecutive day near the town of Kasab, in Syria's Latakia countryside, early Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Boniface Kariuki, a vendor who was shot at close range by a police officer during last month's protests, is laid to rest at his parents' farm in Kangema, Muranga County, Kenya, Friday, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Palestinians mourn a child killed in an Israeli military airstrike on Gaza, at the morgue of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Visitors walk past crosses at a make-shift memorial honoring flood victims, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Britain's Kate, Princess of Wales sits next to tennis legend Billie Jean King in the Royal Box on Centre Court ahead of the women's singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Italy's Jannik Sinner reacts after winning a point against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the men's singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Chelsea's Reece James, left, and Malo Gusto celebrate after defeating Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final soccer match in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
State Department employees applaud as their colleagues walk outside of the State Department headquarters in the Harry S Truman Building, Friday, July 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
President Donald Trump boards Air Force One, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Newark, N.J., en route to Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Children run in a fountain in St. Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Danny Westergaard runs as the sun rises during the Badwater 135 Ultramarathon, Wednesday, July 9, 2025, near Lone Pine, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Tents sheltering displaced Palestinians are seen amid war-damaged infrastructure in Gaza City, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Viktor Hovland of Norway plays his tee shot on the 6th hole during the first round of the British Open golf championship at the Royal Portrush Golf Club, Northern Ireland, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A Syrian Druze woman bids farewell to Druze relatives and friends from Israel before crossing back into Syria at the Israeli-Syrian border, in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights town of Majdal Shams, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A model wears a creation by designer Alejandro Crocker at the Bogota Planetarium in Bogotá, Colombia, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
Local residents carry a big bag as they walk through a flooded road during monsoon rainfall, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
Young Icelandic foals play at a stud farm in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, as the sun rises on Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland grips the driver as he hits his tee shot on the 7th tee during a practice round for the British Open golf championship at the Royal Portrush Golf Club, Northern Ireland, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
President Donald Trump listens during a meeting with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Federal agents detain Carlos Javier Lopez Benitez, center, from Paraguay as they pull away his sister, Porfiria Lopez, a U.S. citizen, left, outside immigration court at the Jacob K. Javits federal building, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Youth from the Hoopa Valley Tribe run with a flag across a sandy stretch that separates the Klamath River from the Pacific Ocean on Friday, July 11, 2025, in Klamath, Calif. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)
Philadelphia Phillies Kyle Schwarber celebrates after winning the tiebreaker at the MLB baseball All-Star game between the American League and National League, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Spectators take photos of the riders during the eleventh stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 156.8 kilometers (97.4 miles) with start and finish in Toulouse, France, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Competitors swim past a drinks station during the women's 10km open water swim at the world swimming championships in Singapore, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Syrian Druze protest near the Israeli-Syrian border, as seen from the town of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, amid the ongoing clashes between Syrian government forces and Druze armed groups in the southern Syrian city of Sweida. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A mine detection rat with the humanitarian demining organization APOPO works in a landmine field in Siem Reap, Cambodia, Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
Vendors wait for customers next to the trunk of their American classic car stuffed with homemade crisps and bread, in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jorge Luis Baños)
Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, and Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard, cross the finish line hand-in-hand of the the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.3 kilometers (102.7 miles) with start in Ennezat and finish in Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Japan's women water polo team stand during national anthem before the match against Greece at the women's water polo preliminary round at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Jon Rahm of Spain plays out of a bunker on the 7th green during a practice round for the British Open golf championship at the Royal Portrush Golf Club, Northern Ireland, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Coastal police tow a dead whale off the shore of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)
Attorney General Pam Bondi leaves following a news conference at the Drug Enforcement Administration, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Starlings pick corn from a corn field in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Fireworks and drones illuminate the Eiffel Tower in Paris, during Bastille Day celebrations late Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Dark clouds hover over the White House as a front of rain moves through, Monday, July 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Hossam Azzam holds the body of his child, Amir, who was killed in an Israeli military airstrike on Gaza, at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Chelsea's Cole Palmer (10) scores his team's second goal past Paris Saint-Germain's goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma (1) during the Club World Cup final soccer match between Chelsea and PSG in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Chelsea pleayers celebrate with the championship trophy after the Club World Cup final soccer match between Chelsea and PSG in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Cadets from the elite engineers school Polytechnique march on the Champs-Elysees avenue during the Bastille Day parade, Monday, July 14, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
A new born chick looks out of the feathers of its mother at a farm in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A young girl runs past crosses at a make-shift memorial honoring flood victims, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A young girl runs past crosses at a make-shift memorial honoring flood victims, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Syrian Civil Defense teams and volunteers battle wildfire flames for the tenth consecutive day near the town of Kasab, in Syria's Latakia countryside, early Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Boniface Kariuki, a vendor who was shot at close range by a police officer during last month's protests, is laid to rest at his parents' farm in Kangema, Muranga County, Kenya, Friday, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Palestinians mourn a child killed in an Israeli military airstrike on Gaza, at the morgue of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Visitors walk past crosses at a make-shift memorial honoring flood victims, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Britain's Kate, Princess of Wales sits next to tennis legend Billie Jean King in the Royal Box on Centre Court ahead of the women's singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Italy's Jannik Sinner reacts after winning a point against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the men's singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Chelsea's Reece James, left, and Malo Gusto celebrate after defeating Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final soccer match in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
State Department employees applaud as their colleagues walk outside of the State Department headquarters in the Harry S Truman Building, Friday, July 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
President Donald Trump boards Air Force One, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Newark, N.J., en route to Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Children run in a fountain in St. Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — An Iranian Kurdish separatist group in Iraq said it has launched attacks on Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in recent days in retaliation for Tehran’s violent crackdown on protests.
Members of the National Army of Kurdistan, the armed wing of the Kurdistan Freedom Party, or PAK, have “played a role in the protests through both financial support and armed operations to defend protesters when needed,” Jwansher Rafati, a PAK representative, told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Iranian media has previously accused the group and other Kurdish factions of attacking security forces.
Iranian activists say more than 2,797 people were killed in the government’s crackdown on a recent wave of nationwide protests.
A handful of Iranian Kurdish dissident or separatist groups — some with armed wings — have long found a safe haven in northern Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region, where their presence has been a point of friction between the central government in Baghdad and Tehran.
Iran has occasionally launched strikes on the groups’ sites in Iraq but has not done so since the outbreak of the recent protests.
The PAK is the first of the groups to claim armed operations since the protests and crackdown began.
“When we found out that the IRGC was shooting protesters directly, our fighters in Ilam, Kermanshah, and Firuzkuh responded with armed operations and inflicted significant damage on the regime’s forces,” Rafati said in an interview in Irbil, the capital of northern Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region.
The PAK has also claimed a number of attacks online and posted video of what it said were operations against IRGC targets, sometimes accompanied by grainy videos showing gunshots or explosions and buildings ablaze. The AP was not able to confirm the extent of the damages or the impact of the attacks.
Rafati said the attacks were launched by members of the group’s National Army of Kurdistan military wing based inside Iran. The group had not sent any forces from Iraq, but it anticipates that Iran may strike PAK bases in Iraq in retaliation for its operations, he added.
He said the PAK has been providing support to dozens of Iranians who fled to the Kurdish area in Iraq since the crackdown on protests began.
The PAK claims may put Iraqi authorities in a sensitive situation with Tehran — which wields significant influence over its neighbor — concerning the group's ongoing presence in northern Iraq.
Iraq in 2023 reached an agreement with Iran to disarm Kurdish Iranian dissident groups and move them from their bases near the border areas into camps designated by Baghdad. The bases were shut down and movement within Iraq was restricted, but the groups have remained active.
During the Israel-Iran war last year, the PAK and other Kurdish dissident groups began organizing politically in case the authorities in Tehran should lose their hold on power but did not launch armed operations.
A PAK spokesperson told the AP at the time that premature armed mobilization could endanger the Kurdish groups and the fragile security of Kurdish areas, both in Iraq and across the border in Iran.
A decade ago, PAK forces received training from the U.S. military when they were taking part in the fight against the Islamic State militant group after it swept across Iraq and Syria, seizing large swathes of territory.
Ironically, the PAK at the time found itself allied with Iran-backed Shiite Iraqi militias that were also fighting against IS.
At that time, the PAK received funding from Iraq's Kurdish regional government, but says now that most of its funding comes from its supporters in Iran and the diaspora.
During the recent protests, Iranian state media has repeatedly referred to the demonstrators as “terrorists” and alleged they received support from America and Israel, without offering evidence to support the claim.
Iranian state television aired what appeared to be surveillance video of a group of men wearing the baggy pants common among the Kurds, firing pistols, in Iran’s western Kurdish region. It has also published images of seized weapons in the area.
The semiofficial Tasnim news agency, which is close to Iran's Revolutionary Guard, said Kurdish groups including the PAK “have played an active role in inciting these movements by issuing coordinated statements and messages.” It said that “groups based in northern Iraq have passed the stage of psychological warfare and media operations and have entered the field phase.”
The semiofficial Fars news agency, which is also close to the Revolutionary Guard, reported on Jan. 10 that another group — the Kurdistan Free Life Party, or PJAK — had killed eight Guard members in Kermanshah and that a PJAK sniper killed a police officer in Ilam province. PJAK has not claimed any armed operations during the protests.
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Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report. Sewell reported from Beirut.
This image made from video shows the representative of the Kurdistan Freedom Party, Jwansher Rafati, speaking during an interview with The Associated Press, in Irbil, Iraq, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Farid Abdulwahed)