Kurds

Iran’s ethnic groups could alter the balance of power - opinion

Iran’s ethnic and religious minorities could play a decisive role in challenging the regime and reshaping the country’s political future.

|ByAHMAD OBALI
FOR IRAN’S Christian community, the postwar crackdown has been particularly severe, with at least 50 members detained by authorities. Here, Iranian Christians take part in the New Year prayer ceremony at a church in Tehran last January.
Demonstrators hold signs as they gather near the Francis Scott Key Bridge during rally in support of the Iranian people and to condemn the execution of political prisoners in Iran, in Washington, DC, on May 16, 2026.

Iran executes two men over January mosque arson amid trial outcry

Mehrdad Mohammadinia and Ashkan Maleki had allegedly been part of a group of demonstrators who targeted the Jafari Mosque in Tehran's Gisha neighborhood.

|ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
A member of Komala of the Toilers of Kurdistan stands while holding a machine gun at a mountain base in Khalifan near Erbil, Iraq's Kurdistan region, on March 12, 2026.

Iran relentlessly targets Kurdish opposition in northern Iraq despite regional ceasefire - analysis

The attacks illustrate how Iran is seeking to keep up the pressure on Kurdish opposition groups. Many of these groups have forces and bases in the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Children hold signs on the day Syrian Kurds demonstrate to mark Kurdish Language Day, demanding constitutional recognition of the Kurdish language by the Syrian government, in Qamishli, Syria, May 14, 2026.

Syria’s limited Kurdish election exposes limits of Damascus’s democratic transition - analysis

Syria had already held types of limited elections in other areas of Syria last year. However, areas outside government control did not hold a vote.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN

Erbil hotel hit by drone attack, security sources say

The drone attack, which came the same day as two other Erbil drone attacks, occured amid Kurdish concerns of being dragged into the Iran war.

MARCH 7, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
A view of the Erbil Arjaan by Rotana hotel, in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region on March 6, 2026.

Israel backing Iranian Kurdish push to seize Iran border areas, sources say

An Israeli source cautioned that there was pushback from the Iraqi Kurds, and without their practical support it would be hard for the Iranian Kurds to mobilize.

MARCH 6, 2026ByREUTERS
Iranian Kurdish fighters from the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) take part in a training session at a base on the outskirts of Erbil, Iraq February 12, 2026.

Iranian officers reportedly abandon posts amid airstrikes, Trump demands 'unconditional surrender'

IDF begins new wave of strikes on Iranian regime • Russia reportedly providing Iran with intel on US • IDF destroys Khamenei's bunker in Tehran • Smotrich's son injured in Lebanon

MARCH 6, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Smoke rising from a recent airstrike on March 6, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.

Will the Kurds open a new front against Iran's Ayatollahs? - analysis

There is a burning desire among the Kurdish people to unite with the West and Israel to topple the regime in Tehran, yet there is deep pragmatic hesitation among the leadership.

MARCH 5, 2026ByAMICHAI STEIN
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.

Iran denies medical care for political inmates at Kurdish region prisons, raises security - report

An Azerbaijani Turkic political prisoner held in Orumiyeh Central Prison was reportedly denied medical attention for hours after suffering a heart attack.

MARCH 5, 2026ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
Prison cell block

Six Kurdish Iranian groups unite in coalition against Tehran regime - analysis

Iranian Kurdish parties form a historic coalition to coordinate efforts and safeguard Kurdish interests amid regional unrest.

MARCH 5, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Erfan Mortezaei, Mahsa Aminis cousin and his colleagues stand among the mountain on October 04, 2022 in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq as part of Komala Kurdistan's Organization of the Communist Party of Iran.

The Kurdistan region of Iraq fears being dragged into Iran war - analysis

As Iran faces US and Israeli strikes, Iraq’s Kurdistan Region fears being pulled into the conflict amid drone attacks, militia activity, and growing concerns about regional escalation.

MARCH 5, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Kurdish Peshmerga fighters affiliated with PAK train on January 18, 2026 near Erbil, Iraq.

IDF launches strikes on Hezbollah in Beirut’s Dahiyeh, missile fragments hit in central Israel

IDF destroys over 300 ballistic missile launchers • Erdogan tells Macron Turkey seeking return to negotiations on Iran • Larijani says Iran prepared for possible US ground op.

MARCH 5, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
A United Hatzalah emergency responder at the scene of a missile hit in central Israel, March 5, 2026.

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.

MARCH 4, 2026ByAMICHAI STEIN, IDAN KWELLER, REUTERS
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.

MARCH 4, 2026ByJACOB LAZNIK
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.