Tensions Rise as Kurdish Forces Prepare to Strike Iran by Land Route
For six consecutive days, the United States and Israel have conducted air strikes on various targets inside Iran. The question now is whether ground troops will be deployed to invade Iran. Perhaps, but not from the United States. The Iranian Kurdish opposition groups living in exile in northern Iraq told the BBC that they have plans to cross the border, plans that have existed for decades. However, they firmly rejected claims that their forces had moved.
‘We have prepared this for 47 years, since the establishment of the Islamic Republic,’ said Hana Yazdanpana of the Kurdistan Freedom Party (KFP), claiming to have the largest armed forces. ‘Yet not a single Peshmerga is moving.’
The Kurdish term for peshmerga means ‘people who face death.’
When could the Kurdish forces move?
Yazdanpana explained that six opposition groups that recently formed a coalition are coordinating politically and militarily. ‘None are moving alone,’ she said. ‘We will know if our brothers decide to move.’
However, she said there has been no troop movement this week. She said such a step would only be possible if the United States first clears the skies. ‘The skies above us have not been cleared,’ she said. ‘And we need the regime’s arsenal to be destroyed. If not, it would be suicide. The regime is brutal, while the most advanced weapons we have is the Kalashnikov.’
Yazdanpana also urged the United States to impose a no-fly zone to protect the Kurdish forces. ‘We have asked for this many times,’ she said. ‘I myself have emailed with the message ’we need it urgently’.’
One person was killed after Iran fired missiles at a Kurdish base in northern Iraq.
The White House rejected reports that President Donald Trump was considering arming the Kurdish groups. Notably, many of them have previously been trained by US forces to fight ISIS in Iraq.
Yet, as speculation grows about Kurdish movement, Iranian military strikes against them have intensified. The BBC team witnessed the impact of attacks on two groups, including ballistic missile strikes that hit a KFP base and killed a fighter.
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Will Gulf states retaliate against Iran and be drawn into war?
Some opposition groups have evacuated bases and moved troops to avoid strikes. Joining in the fight against the Iranian government clearly carries high risk. It is not yet clear what Trump may offer in return.
The Kurds are the fourth-largest ethnic group in the Middle East, spread across Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. They have a long history of oppression and betrayal. As the Kurdish proverb goes, ‘we have no friends but the mountains.’
Question: can the US be trusted to keep its promises?
Many Kurds in Syria — a key Washington ally in the fight against ISIS — have recently felt betrayed after Trump sided with the Damascus transitional government rather than them.
Pragmatic views
Some Kurdish Iranian leaders have adopted pragmatic positions.
‘America and Israel are not starting this war for our hopes, but for their own interests,’ said Mustafa Mauludi, deputy chairman of the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI).
‘However, they are targeting the IRGC bases, and this would benefit us and help us enter.’
Mauludi, aged 67, has waited almost his whole life to see the regime fall. Dressed in traditional Kurdish attire, he recounted a family history marked by pain: a cousin was killed by Iranian authorities when he was 13, while another cousin remains imprisoned for 31 years on charges of collaborating with the opposition. He said around 60% of his family have been arrested and treated poorly for political activity.
Mauludi even imagines the moment of his return to his homeland. ‘When I reach the first village,’ he said, ‘I will shout loudly: ’I have fought for you, you are my people, and now I will fight even harder for you.’’
He is hopeful to be there in time to celebrate the Kurdish New Year, Nowruz, which falls on 21 March.
About 10% of Iran’s population of 90 million are Kurds. Their leaders are now calling for international support for Trump and for their struggle.
‘We are the most politically organised group in Iran,’ said Abdullah Mohtadi, secretary-general of the Komala Kurdistan Iran Party.
‘And we will not let this opportunity for change slip away.’
Mohtadi expressed disappointment with the UK’s stance. ‘I am shocked that the UK is the only European country yet to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organisation,’ he said. He also criticised London’s reluctance to allow the use of its bases by the US to strike Iran.
How many Kurdish fighters?
It is difficult to gauge how many fighters the Kurdish groups could muster. ‘Perhaps a few thousand, including some already inside [Iran],’ said a local Kurdish journalist. ’They want to become