The Kurdish Struggle in Iran: From Revolution to Resistance (1979–2026)
- Mero Ranyayi
- 9 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Introduction
Iranian Kurdistan — known to Kurds as Rojhilat (the East) — has been the site of armed conflict between Kurdish organisations and the Iranian state for over a century. From the Simko Shikak revolt of 1918 to the Republic of Mahabad in 1946, from the post-revolutionary rebellion of 1979 to the Iranian missile strikes on Kurdish opposition camps in Iraq in 2022, the struggle for Kurdish rights in Iran has been marked by insurgency, assassination, exile, and cross-border warfare.
This article covers the post-1979 era: the Kurdish rebellion against the Islamic Republic, the KDPI and Komala insurgencies, the targeted assassinations of Kurdish leaders, the emergence of PJAK, and the Iranian military’s escalating strikes against Kurdish opposition groups based in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Contents
The 1979 Kurdish Rebellion Against the Islamic Republic
When the Iranian Revolution overthrew the Shah in 1979, Kurds in western Iran saw an opportunity to gain the autonomy that had been denied under the Pahlavi monarchy. The Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), led by Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou, and the leftist Komala party mobilised peshmerga fighters and seized control of much of Iranian Kurdistan. The new Islamic Republic, led by Ayatollah Khomeini, refused to negotiate Kurdish autonomy and in August 1979 declared jihad against the Kurdish movement.
The Iranian army and the newly formed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched a major offensive against Kurdish positions. The fighting was intense: approximately 10,000 people were killed during the rebellion, including 1,200 Kurdish political prisoners executed by the government. Hundreds of Kurdish villages were razed. By 1981, the IRGC had retaken the major Kurdish cities, though guerrilla resistance continued in the mountains until 1983, when the Iran-Iraq War diverted Iranian military resources to the Iraqi front.
The KDPI Insurgency and the Assassination Campaign (1989–1996)
In July 1989, KDPI leader Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou was assassinated in Vienna while engaged in secret peace negotiations with Iranian government representatives. Ghassemlou was killed at the negotiation table — an act that galvanised the KDPI into renewed armed resistance. The KDPI launched large-scale attacks on Iranian military bases in Kurdish areas in 1990 and 1991, reportedly killing hundreds of Iranian soldiers.
Iran responded with a systematic campaign of targeted assassinations against Kurdish opposition leaders abroad. In September 1992, Ghassemlou’s successor Sadegh Sharafkandi and three other KDPI officials were assassinated at the Mykonos restaurant in Berlin — a killing that was later attributed to the Iranian government by a German court. By 1996, the KDPI’s military capacity had been effectively destroyed through this combination of assassinations, military crackdowns, and internal divisions. The party announced a unilateral ceasefire.
PJAK and the New Kurdish Insurgency (2004–2011)
After the KDPI’s decline, a new Kurdish armed organisation emerged in Iran. The Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), affiliated with the PKK, launched an insurgency against the Iranian state from 2004 onward. Operating from bases in the Qandil mountains of northern Iraq, PJAK conducted guerrilla attacks against IRGC positions along the Iran-Iraq border. The group was estimated to have approximately 3,000 fighters at its peak.
In 2011, Iran launched a major military offensive against PJAK positions, using artillery, airstrikes, and ground forces along the border. The campaign significantly reduced PJAK’s military capacity, and the group declared a ceasefire later that year. However, the underlying Kurdish demands for cultural and political rights remained unaddressed.
Iranian Strikes on Kurdish Opposition in Iraq (2018–2026)
Since 2018, Iran has increasingly used missile and drone strikes against Iranian Kurdish opposition groups based in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. In September 2018, the IRGC launched seven ballistic missiles at the KDPI headquarters in Koya while a party meeting was underway, killing and injuring dozens. In September–November 2022, following the death of Mahsa Amini and the outbreak of nationwide protests in Iran — in which Kurdish regions played a leading role — Iran conducted a sustained campaign of drone, artillery, and missile strikes against KDPI, Komala, and PAK bases in northern Iraq, killing at least 20 people and injuring over 70.
In 2023, under sustained Iranian pressure, the Iraqi government and the KRG agreed to disarm and relocate Iranian Kurdish opposition groups away from the border. Despite this, Iranian strikes continued. In 2026, a drone strike targeted an Iranian Kurdish opposition camp north of Erbil, demonstrating that Iran continues to view these groups as a security threat regardless of diplomatic agreements.
Legacy
The Kurdish struggle in Iran has been defined by a distinctive pattern: armed rebellion, state suppression, targeted assassination of leadership, exile, and reorganisation. The Iranian state has proven willing to use extreme measures — from mass executions to international assassinations to cross-border missile strikes — to prevent Kurdish autonomy. The Kurdish parties of Iranian Kurdistan remain fragmented and divided, weakening their collective capacity.
The 2022 protests — triggered by the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, a young Kurdish woman — demonstrated that Kurdish identity and Kurdish demands for rights remain deeply alive in Iran. The protests that followed her death, beginning in Kurdish cities like Saqqez and spreading across the entire country under the slogan ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadî’ (Woman, Life, Freedom), became the largest challenge to the Islamic Republic in years. The Kurdish question in Iran is not resolved. It continues to evolve.
Key Events and Timeline
1979–1983 — Kurdish rebellion against the Islamic Republic; KDPI and Komala peshmerga fight IRGC; approximately 10,000 killed
July 1989 — KDPI leader Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou assassinated in Vienna during peace negotiations
September 1992 — Mykonos restaurant assassinations: Sadegh Sharafkandi and three KDPI officials killed in Berlin
1996 — KDPI declares unilateral ceasefire after assassination campaign destroys its military capacity
2004 — PJAK launches insurgency against Iran from Qandil mountains
2011 — Major Iranian military offensive against PJAK; PJAK declares ceasefire
September 2018 — IRGC fires seven ballistic missiles at KDPI headquarters in Koya, Iraq
September–November 2022 — Iranian drone and missile strikes on Kurdish opposition camps in Iraq after Mahsa Amini protests
2026 — Drone strike targets Iranian Kurdish opposition camp north of Erbil
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the KDPI?
The Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI/PDKI) is an Iranian Kurdish political party founded in 1945 by Qazi Muhammad in Mahabad. It has waged multiple insurgencies against the Iranian state, seeking autonomy for Iranian Kurdistan. Its leaders Ghassemlou and Sharafkandi were both assassinated by agents linked to the Iranian government.
Why does Iran attack Kurdish groups in Iraq?
Several Iranian Kurdish opposition groups — including the KDPI, Komala, and PAK — have been based in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq since the 1980s. Iran views these groups as security threats and has conducted missile, drone, and artillery strikes against their camps, particularly during periods of domestic unrest such as the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests.
References and Further Reading
Wikipedia — 1979 Kurdish Rebellion in Iran, KDPI Insurgency, Kurdish Separatism in Iran
CTC West Point — Iranian Kurdish Militias, 2017
MERI — Iran and its Opposition Kurdish Parties: The Need for Dialogue
Wikipedia — September–October 2022 Attacks on Iraqi Kurdistan, Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran
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