Kurds

Iran increases attacks on Kurdish opposition following days of clashes

The centrist and nationalist KDPI is a historic Kurdish Iranian opposition group, which Iran has targeted for many years, assassinating its leaders decades ago.

An Iranian Kurdish Peshmerga member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) inspects damage sustained at the Azadi Camp of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran on March 3, 2026; Illustrative.
Members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) participate in a military drill in an outpost near Erbil, Kurdistan region of Iraq on January 15, 2026.

Spreading Kurdish militant attacks pressure Iran as it navigates fragile US diplomacy - analysis

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses a party conference, June 27, 2026.

Erdogan ties 'genociding, expansionist, occupying' Zionism to threats to Turkey, 2016 coup attempt

 A man looks through a screen during a state funeral service in Enqelab Square, for military commanders and others killed in the recent war with Israel on June 28, 2025 in Tehran, Iran. Israel and and Iran traded daily aerial attacks over a 12-day period until a ceasefire took effect on June 24.

Senior IRGC Navy officer dies in car crash as insurgencies escalate across western Iran


Hundreds of Kurdish fighters launch ground offensive in Iran, officials deny reports

The Kurdish forces operating along the Iran-Iraq border are considered one of the most prominent armed opposition groups confronting the regime in Tehran.

A Kurdish fighter in Iraq.

CIA working to arm Kurdish forces, aims to spark uprising against Iran regime - report

Iranian Kurdish opposition forces are expected to take part in a ground operation in Western Iran in the coming days, a senior Iranian Kurdish official told CNN.

The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) members pose for the camera as they celebrate Nowruz at the Jezhnikan Village around Baharka, Iraq, on March 18, 2025.

Who are the Kurdish groups and leaders that the US might work with in Iran? - explainer

The US is reaching out to Kurdish Iranian opposition groups as tensions rise, following airstrikes on Iran. Kurdish factions recently formed a coalition to oppose the Iranian regime.

 Members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) walk back to their outpost near Erbil, Kurdistan region of Iraq on Saturday, June 10, 2023. The KDPI, a leftist Kurdish group of Iran that has been running an armed struggle against the Islamic Republic's regime in Iran from exile for decades

Kurdish militias face high-stakes gamble in potential US alliance against Tehran - interview

Beyond what many see as a recent betrayal, the reality for Kurds in the Islamic regime will likely only worsen if the US and Israel fail to secure regime change.

Fighters from the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), an Iranian Kurdish opposition group, are pictured near the border with Iran in Iraq's Kurdistan Region, in the outskirts of Sulaimaniya, Iraq, June 21, 2025.

Drone strike hits Iranian Kurdish opposition group in Iraq, wounding two

A drone strike on an Iranian Kurdish opposition group’s base in Iraq’s Kurdistan wounded two fighters. This attack highlights ongoing tensions between Iran and militant groups in the region.

The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) members pose for the camera as they celebrate Nowruz at the Jezhnikan Village around Baharka, Iraq, on March 18, 2025.

US, Kurds discuss potential Iran military operation, sources say

While a final decision has not yet been made, the goal of a joint operation would be to create room for Iranians opposed to the Islamic regime to rise up.

Kurdish internal security forces stand guard, as Syrian Kurds demonstrate to demand the release of Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been held in prison by Turkey since his capture in 1999, in Qamishli, Syria February 15, 2026.

Pahlavi’s challenge: Will he overcome Kurdish distrust to lead a unified Iran? - opinion

Iran’s opposition struggles to unite as minority rights remain unresolved.

Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran's last shah and an Iranian opposition figure, speaks during the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, Germany, February 13, 2026.

The Kurds' moment: Why Iran’s Kurdish opposition thinks history is turning in its favor

MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS: Kurdish groups in Iran and Iraq have faced incredible hardships. They have persevered. Now they sense that their moment has arrived.

KURDISH GEN. Hussein Yazdanpanah, whom the writer first met almost a decade ago, has been fighting for Kurdish sovereignty for years.

For Kurds in Iraq, Iran conflict has opportunities and pitfalls - analysis

In the past, some Kurds were able to seek refuge in Iran during Saddam Hussein’s genocidal poison gas attacks. However, the Iranian regime has been persecuting Kurds over recent decades.

Travellers, mainly Iranian Kurds, arrive at the Haji Omran border crossing with Iran (Iranian flag in the background), in Iraq's autonomous northern Kurdish region, on February 1, 2026.

Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq threatens US, Kurdish groups

The militia's threat came as the US Embassy in Israel said it had authorized the departure of non-essential personnel on Friday.

Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim men from the Iranian-backed group Kataib Hezbollah wave the party's flags as they walk along a street painted in the colours of the Israeli flag during a parade marking the annual Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in Baghdad