🔶 Leaving legitimate defense behind; are Kurdish parties entering an offensive phase? 🔻Report by Omid Barin A new round of deadly clashes between Kurdish party forces and the Islamic Republic forces in the provinces of Kermanshah, Kurdistan, and West Azerbaijan has once again drawn attention to Tehran’s security strategies toward the Kurdish movement and to the Kurdish opposition parties. In these rare military confrontations over the past few days—during which the heavy shadow of Tehran’s diplomatic moves, nuclear talks, and geopolitical anxieties is clearly felt— the government, by deploying extensive forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Special Forces, arming local paramilitaries (in Kurdish, “jash”), and using drones, is seeking to further militarize the geography of these areas. However, the leaders of Kurdish parties believe that the Islamic Republic, by imposing an all-out war atmosphere and turning to blatant violence, is trying to cover up the crisis of legitimacy and increasing domestic and international failures. To examine more precisely the scope and roots of these clashes, the backroom aims behind Tehran’s securitizing of the region, and also an understanding of the current strategy of the Kurdish movement in the face of these moves, Deutsche Welle Persian has interviewed Amir Karimi, the co-chair of the Free Life Kurdistan Party (PJAK), and Mustafa Moludi, the deputy secretary-general of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDP-I). Kurdish opposition parties believe that the Islamic Republic is imposing an unequal, all-encompassing war on the region. They emphasize that the government, relying on military force, intends to completely block the political and civil space of Kurdistan. Amir Karimi, the co-chair of PJAK, presents a highly alarming picture of the current situation and believes that “the IRGC is seeking to create an all-out war atmosphere in the region.” In this regard, he says: “In Kurdistan we are facing a very severe security and militarism environment; an environment that strongly carries the scent of a coup. The presence of soldiers is evident everywhere, and the number of units and military forces—especially the forces affiliated with the IRGC—has increased significantly.” The co-chair of PJAK, providing further details, points to the government arming “local mercenaries” and adds: “With full freedom, these forces carry out daily insults, humiliation, and harassment of the people.” He cites as a clear example of this violence the killing of a young man in Mahabad (Siawash Alak) by forces affiliated with the government in broad daylight, which has had widespread resonance among the public. To explain the process of escalating tensions, Karimi refers to a chain of increasing attacks by the IRGC and says: “These moves began with the IRGC’s artillery attacks in Marivan, and then we witnessed drone attacks in Baneh. Ultimately, in their recent operation in Mahabad, four members of our party—including two female comrades—were martyred.” He goes on to stress that these pressures will not lead to a change in their approach, and explains the party’s military stance toward these clashes as follows: “Under these conditions we have not created any change in our strategy, and our struggles remain firmly based on legitimate defense.” Karimi continues: “We insist on maintaining this position and in no way intend to enter an offensive phase; because we believe that the escalation of clashes is exactly the puzzle that the Islamic Republic is seeking to complete.” The recent clashes were not limited to PJAK; the deadly confrontation between the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran’s (KDP-I) Peshmerga forces and the IRGC in Piranshahr also constituted another part of the tensions of the past days. While the Islamic Republic calls this confrontation “defense of the borders,” Kurdish parties strongly reject this official narrative. In an interview with Deutsche Welle, Mustafa Moludi, the deputy secretary-general of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran, rejects the claim that the Peshmerga planned military and operational actions for these clashes, and considers it the result of a surprise ambush by government forces. Moludi also called Tehran’s claim that these clashes were border-related completely baseless, and emphasized that this confrontation “took place at a distance of three kilometers from the city of Piranshahr and in the depth of Iranian soil”; a place, he says, where “the Peshmerga of the organization inside were only in the process of being present among the people and carrying out patrols.” He considers this time of year to be a season of activity and patrolling by their forces, and emphasizes that the Iranian regime, in an attempt to make up for its past losses and damages, is continuously pursuing and laying ambushes along the path of these forces. Read the full text of the report on the Deutsche Welle Persian website. Hashtags: ["Kurdistan","Armed clashes","PJAK","KDP-I","Legitimate defense"]