The Iranian Kurdish opposition parties are facing a delicate balance amid ongoing tensions with Iran. The conflict has escalated since the United States-Israel strikes began on February 28, and their bases in northern Iraq and inside Iran have become frontlines of the war.
Iranian Kurdish groups from both sides of the border have flourished after Iraq’s defeat in the 1990-1991 Gulf War led to a no-fly zone in northern Iraq and self-rule by the Kurdistan Regional Government. However, Iranian Kurdish opposition parties have been on high alert since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Five Kurdish groups based in Iraq and western Iran formed the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan in response to the suppression of protests in December and January. Since then, their military and political assets in Iraq have been heavily attacked by Iranian drones and missiles. The coalition’s leader, Kako Alyar, has claimed that his party had sleeper cells and networks that participated in antigovernment protests in Iran.
The outbreak of war has changed the circumstances within Kurdish areas, especially after Iranian authorities tightened security measures and suppressed the protests. “The party has not received any military assistance from the United States or European or Arab countries,” Alyar said. “Despite our demands to get such support.”
US President Donald Trump has flip-flopped on the role of Kurdish groups in the US-Israel military campaign, but there have been reports of US intelligence working with Kurdish fighters and areas along the Iraq-Iran border have been heavily attacked since the start of the war.
Iranian opposition leaders are skeptical about the success of any potential large-scale military operation in Kurdish areas. “At the present time, there are risks, especially given the heavy deployment of Iranian forces in the Kurdish areas,” Alyar said. The Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government had requested Iranian Kurdish parties to refrain from activities that could harm local security and interests.
Iranian state media have acknowledged attacks on “anti-Iran separatist forces” in hard-to-reach areas near the Iran-Iraq border, while Sharifi estimates his party’s bases and positions have been attacked more than 80 times since the beginning of the war. The Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government had put pressure on Iranian Kurdish parties to limit their movements before this current war.
The conflict has also led to economic targets being hit in suspected drone and missile attacks. “We have thousands of fighters… We could have done more inside Iran, but we place the security and stability of the Kurdistan Region at the top of our priorities,” Sharifi said.
Iranian-linked fighter groups in Iraq have been heavily attacked by US strikes, including after attacks on Saadoun oil fields. The situation remains volatile as both sides continue to exchange blows, with no clear end in sight.
Based on reporting from Al Jazeera.
