Iranian Kurdish Opposition Groups Ready but Cautious as U.S.-Iran Conflict Unfolds

Iranian Kurdish opposition groups are monitoring the escalating conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran, but are not planning immediate military action against Tehran despite their readiness to challenge the regime, according to a senior Kurdish leader.

In an exclusive interview, Khalid Azizi, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI), told reporters that Kurdish forces are closely watching developments in the region but have no plans to launch a ground offensive at this stage.

“We are ready and our party is well organized,” Azizi said during his visit to Washington, D.C. “But right now we do not have any intention to enter Iranian Kurdistan because the ground forces in this war have not been a topic.”

Recent reports have suggested that President Donald Trump spoke with Mustafa Hijri, the leader of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, as Washington explores possible Kurdish involvement in pressuring Iran. When asked about these discussions, Azizi declined to confirm or deny whether such a conversation took place.

Azizi, who was speaking from the U.S. capital where Kurdish representatives were meeting with policymakers and institutions, has personal experience with Iran’s military retaliation. In 2018, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles at the KDPI headquarters in Koy Sanjaq in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region during a leadership meeting, killing at least 18 people and injuring dozens, including Azizi himself.

“We have been targeted by the Islamic Republic,” he recounted. “The first Iranian missile was sent to my headquarters and I was personally injured in that attack.”

Despite these risks, Azizi emphasized that Kurdish resistance remains strong after decades of confrontation with Iran since the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The KDPI is one of the oldest Kurdish opposition movements fighting Iran’s Islamic Republic and is a member of the Socialist International. It operates primarily from bases in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

A significant development in the Kurdish political landscape has been the formation of the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan, bringing together several historically divided Kurdish factions opposed to the Islamic Republic.

“We have managed to create a unity among the Kurdish political parties,” Azizi said. “This has been welcomed by the Iranian Kurdish people and by different Iranian political parties.”

While acknowledging that U.S. and Israeli strikes have weakened Iran militarily, Azizi pointed out that regime change would ultimately depend on Iranian citizens themselves taking action. “The regime still remains in power because people are not on the streets and there is no alternative right now to replace this regime,” he said.

The Kurdish leader emphasized the importance of Western governments focusing not only on military campaigns but also on helping Iranian opposition movements coordinate politically. He stressed that Iran’s ethnic diversity must be considered in any future democratic system.

“The path and the roadmap for rebuilding Iran must be based on the participation of all ethnic groups,” Azizi explained. “Iran is a multi-ethnic society.”

The cautious approach by Kurdish forces reflects the complex regional dynamics at play. “It’s very easy to start a war,” Azizi warned, “but it will be more complicated how to end this war.”

For now, Kurdish fighters remain in a holding pattern, despite having both the capacity and motivation to act. “We have the ability and we have the capacity,” Azizi concluded, “But it is not easy right now for us to make any decision regarding entering Iranian Kurdistan.”

The stance of the Kurdish opposition groups represents just one element in the increasingly volatile regional situation, as multiple actors carefully calculate their next moves in a conflict with potentially far-reaching consequences for the entire Middle East.