Iran tightens grip on Kurdish opposition based in Iraq

The show of unity and mutual support was on display during Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's visit to the Kurdish region of Iraq, where he was welcomed by Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani in Erbil.

The two leaders embraced at Erbil International Airport, with Barzani speaking in Farsi to Iranian media and Pezeshkian responding in Kurdish to a question from Rudaw, a major broadcaster in Iraq's Kurdistan region.

In a propaganda campaign, Iranian state media heavily promoted the symbolic language exchange between the two politicians, portraying it as evidence of an all-time high in relations between Iran and the autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq.

Pezeshkian echoed this optimistic narrative when he told Rudaw, "Our relationship with the Kurdistan region is good, and we will make it better."

However, Barzani's remarks in Farsi provided a more realistic image of the relationship.

"Yes, there are problems, but we have to solve these problems as a team," he admitted, signalling unresolved issues.

He also addressed a particularly sensitive point, emphasising: "Under no circumstances should the territory of the Kurdistan region of Iraq be used against the Islamic Republic [of Iran]."

This concern is widely regarded as the driving force behind Pezeshkian's visit to the Kurdish region—the first by an Iranian president. It highlights a long-standing issue, predating both the establishment of an autonomous Kurdish region and the formation of the Islamic Republic following Iran's 1979 revolution.

Kurdish opposition setbacks

Before Pezeshkian's visit to Iraq, in less than a week, leftist Kurdish groups based in Iraq, which have long opposed the Iranian regime, have faced significant setbacks. This has fuelled assertions that Iranian influence is surging in neighbouring Iraq and Kurdistan.

On 6 September, these opposition groups announced a relocation imposed on them by the officials in Iraq and Kurdistan region, forcing them back from their bases near the Iran-Iraq border.

Abdullah Mohtadi, leader of the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, confirmed the relocation and told BBC Persian, "This decision was entirely made under the pressure of the Islamic Republic. We disagreed with this and believed that the governments in Iraq and Kurdistan should not have yielded to Iran's pressures."

As the pressures continued, on 7 September, sources in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan reported that Behzad Khosrawi, a member of the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), was extradited and handed over to Iranian intelligence.

On the same day, Kurdish opposition groups received another blow when Saliha Aybiyik, a senior Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militant responsible for operations in Iran, was killed in a drone strike in Sulaymaniyah.

These developments come just before the 19 September deadline set by Iranian military commanders and officials. They had warned that if Iraq did not address their demands, Iran would resume attacks on Kurdish opposition bases in the region.

Tehran immediately presented the displacement of Kurdish opposition groups as a major victory, featuring it in headlines before the politicians' official visit.

The Khorasan daily, linked to Iran's supreme leader, hailed the achievement, and quoted the commander of the IRGC ground forces as saying, "The expulsion of terrorist groups from the border with Iraq is the greatest victory of the Islamic Republic."

Tehran's success comes at a critical time. This coincides with the second anniversary of the "Women, Life, Freedom" uprising, that erupted on 16 September 2022.

Kurds and 2022 anti-establishment movement

Since the onset of the 2022 uprising in Iran, officials have blamed the Iranian Kurdish opposition in Iraq for inciting the unrest.

Their accusations are rooted in tangible connections: Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old whose death in the custody of Iran's Islamic morality police ignited the protests, was from a Kurdish city. The movement's central slogan, "Women, Life, Freedom," was borrowed from the Kurdish struggle in Syria and adapted to the Iranian context.

Moreover, Iran's Kurdish cities have witnessed some of the most intense clashes between security forces and protesters during the uprising, further intensifying the regime’s focus on Kurdish groups.

This urgency led to missile attacks on Kurdish camps in Iraq shortly after the uprising began, resulting in numerous casualties among both militants and civilians.

Mohtadi, from the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan also highlighted that in the interview with BBC Persian, referring to the relocation of the Iranian Kurd opposition groups.

"This is a psychological war that Iran began in response to all the successes that the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement has gained," he said.

However, the recent pressure on the Kurd was just the latest phase of a long-lasting deadly encounter between Iranian authorities and the Kurdish oppositions. This had begun just a few months after the 1979 revolution, when an armed uprising was organised by the separatist Kurdish groups in Iran.

The uprising was suppressed by the deadly response of the country's army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), but the tension continued during the Iran-Iraq war.

During that eight-year when the opposition Iranian Kurds aligned with the Iraqi army, the opposition Kurds in Iraq supported the Iranian military forces.

The strained relationship continued until the fall of Saddam Hussein in Iraq and the formation of the autonomous region in Iraq's oil-rich Kurdistan.

Despite the support the Iranian establishment showed for the new political structure in Iraq, they were concerned about the impact the autonomy of Iraq's Kurdistan region could have on Iranian Kurds, who had been fighting for decades to gain basic rights, such as teaching their language in schools.

Their concerns proved valid, as soon after the Kurds in Iraq gained autonomy, many Iranian Kurds moved to the neighbouring country to join the ranks of armed Kurdish groups fighting against Iran.

Kurdistan's future

Over the past two decades, Iraq's Kurdistan has served as a safe haven for these groups, where they could freely train their members in military bases, recruit new members, and launch attacks against the Iranian military, especially the notorious IRGC forces.

However, with recent developments and Pezeshikan’s visit to Iraq's Kurdistan, Tehran has finally succeeded in pushing back its armed opposition groups to the western parts of Iraq.

Zhiar Gol, a veteran Kurdish journalist, suggested these pressures are not only about the Kurds in Iran and Iraq but also send a message to the international community.

"The Islamic Republic wants to show off its power in Iraq and the region by restricting Iranian Kurdish parties in Iraq and getting closer to the regional government," he wrote.

While Tehran succeeded in temporarily curbing the activities of Kurdish opposition groups near its western borders, the deep-rooted grievances of the Kurdish population remain unresolved.

As Iraq's Kurdistan continues to play a central role in this conflict, the broader implications for regional stability and international relations will likely persist, with both Iran and Kurdish groups vying for influence and recognition.