Iran Terrorist groups - foreign based

al-Qa'ida (AQ): aim(s): unite the worldwide Muslim community, overthrow governments perceived as un-Islamic, and, ultimately, establish a pan-Islamic caliphate under a strict Salafi Muslim interpretation of sharia (2018)

Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK): aim(s): advance Kurdish autonomy, political, and cultural rights in Iran, Turkey, Iraq, and Syria
area(s) of operation: operational in the northwest; majority of members inside Iran are Iranian Kurds, along with Kurds from Iraq, Syria, and Turkey (2018)