ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – A senior member of the Iranian Kurdish opposition group Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) was found dead in an Erbil hotel on Saturday, with the group alleging he was assassinated by Tehran, as further investigations are underway.

Soran Mohammadzadeh, the victim, was a member of PAK for around 20 years, Hana Yazdanpanah, head of PAK’s foreign relations office, told The New Region. 

A senior source from the group told The New Region that Mohammadzadeh had been continuously relocating across the Kurdistan Region following Iran’s near-daily strikes on Kurdish opposition groups’ civilian and military camps located in the Region.

"The Iranian regime once again resorted to terrorist operations targeting our members and Peshmerga fighters," the source said. 

Although the attacks have declined sharply since the ceasefire talks between Washington and Tehran in early April, they have continued sporadically.  

“Mohammadzadeh was forced to stay in hotels, moving from one to another for his safety," Yazdanpanah said, adding that they discovered his body on Saturday and claimed he was assassinated by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

"Based on the information we have gathered so far through the ongoing investigation, the assassination was carried out by a two-person team," the source added.

Tehran has long been accused of carrying out assassinations targeting dissidents and opposition figures abroad. 

Based on PAK's investigation, the two individuals who carried out the assassination "were mercenaries hired by Iran" to conduct assassination operations "inside Iraq."

"The victim's body bore evidence of both stab wounds and gunshot wounds," the source noted.

Another senior PAK member told The New Region that more details are expected to be released soon as authorities examine the victim’s body and other evidence, with the investigation ongoing.  

Iran routinely targets and clashes with Iranian-Kurdish opposition parties such as PAK, the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), Komala, and the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), which are based in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. 

Tehran designates these groups as "terrorists" and has frequently carried out cross-border attacks against them. These groups, which seek greater rights for Iran’s marginalized Kurdish population, have fought an on-and-off conflict with the Islamic Republic for decades.

The attacks targeting opposition groups in the Kurdistan Region have killed at least ten people and wounded several others since late February, according to data compiled by The New Region.