Senior Kurdish commander killed in clashes with IRGC in western Iranian province

A senior commander of the Kurdish opposition party, the Kurdistan Toilers' Party (Komala), was killed during clashes with Iranian forces in Iran's western Kurdistan province on Thursday.

Rebwar Karimian, also known as Rebwar Daseran, was the head of Komala's military commission was killed following several hours of fighting with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) near Mariwan, a town in western Iran, close to the Iraqi Kurdistan border. The clashes took place in the Piranakon area, where the IRGC shelled the region, according to a statement from the Komala party later in the day.

Fariba Mohammedi, spokesperson for Komala, confirmed the news to The New Arab but did not provide further details at the time.

Iranian reports indicated that the skirmish began when members of the leftist Komala Party were ambushed by Iranian border guards while attempting to enter the country. Iran's Kurdistan province shares a rugged, mountainous border with the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, where several Iranian Kurdish opposition groups have established bases.

The incident comes months after Iran and Iraq signed a border security agreement in March 2023, aimed at strengthening the boundary between Iran and Iraq's Kurdish region. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian recently visited Iraq and the Kurdish region, where he met with senior Iraqi and Kurdish officials to discuss regional security.

In recent months, Kurdish authorities have increased pressure on three Iranian Kurdish opposition parties, urging them to disarm and relocate from their mountainous headquarters in Iraqi Kurdistan to newly established urban camps. This includes Komala, whose fighters were reportedly evacuated from bases near Sulaimaniyah to a new camp in Surdash, following pressure from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which maintains close ties with Tehran.

Fariba Mohammedi expressed concern over the relocation, stating that Komala members, as political refugees, have rights under international law. She warned that the new camp leaves them vulnerable to attacks from Iran, as their safety is not guaranteed by the Iraqi government or the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

The disarmament and relocation process has not been well received by the armed wings of Iranian Kurdish opposition groups. Some fighters, like Karimian, have chosen to return to their homeland and engage in guerrilla warfare against the IRGC rather than relocate to urban camps.

Iran accuses the Iranian Kurdish opposition parties of fuelling protests inside Iran and cooperating with Israel's Mossad, allegations the parties refute.