TEHRAN, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry on Friday welcomed the call by jailed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan to disarm the group.

In a statement, ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei called the decision an "important step" toward rejecting violence.

He stressed that Iran welcomed any process that leads to the cessation of terrorism and enhances security in neighboring Türkiye, expressing hope that this development would have "positive impacts" across the region.

On Thursday, Türkiye's pro-Kurdish Democratic Party announced in Istanbul that Ocalan had called for the PKK's disarmament and dissolution.

Ocalan, who has been held in near-total isolation at a prison on Imrali Island in the Sea of Marmara since 1999, founded the PKK in 1978. The PKK is designated as a terrorist group by Türkiye, the United States, and the European Union.

Turkish forces frequently carry out cross-border operations targeting PKK militants in northern Iraq, especially in the Qandil Mountains, the group's main base. Enditem

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