No ceasefire for Iran’s Kurdish opposition parties in exile

No ceasefire for Iran’s Kurdish opposition parties in exile Submitted by Wladimir van Wilgenburg on Fri, 04/17/2026 - 11:36 Iranian Kurds have been heavily targeted since 28 February, with nearly 700 drone and missile attacks, local media says Ghazal Moulan, a 19-year old Kurdish female fighter killed in an Iranian drone strike, laid to rest on 16 April in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq (Afshin Ismaeli/MEE) Off While Iran pushed to include Lebanon in its ceasefire agreement with the US and Israel, it has increased its drone attacks on Iranian Kurdish parties since the announcement of the truce on 8 April.  On 14 April, an Iranian drone strike killed Ghazal Moulan, a 19-year old female fighter of the Komala Toilers of Kurdistan in Sulaimaniyah, in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. “Deeply sadly. The criminal hands of the Islamic Republic did not cease their bloodshed even under the shadow of a ceasefire,” Amjad Hossein Panahi, a spokesperson of the Komala party, posted on X. Funeral of Iranian Kurdish fighter Gazal Maulan(19), a member of the Komala Party, who lost her life in an Iranian drone strike in Sulaimaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan. pic.twitter.com/JWQ2tSPUDf— Afshin Ismaeli (@Afshin_Ismaeli) April 16, 2026 Mustafa Mawloudi, deputy secretary general of the opposition Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (PDKI), told Middle East Eye, that since the US-Iran ceasefire was implemented, Iranian bombardment targeting Kurdish opposition groups, including his party, has not stopped. “As far as we know, there is also a ceasefire for Lebanon, but for us, the attacks have been ongoing,” Mawloudi said. On Thursday, US President Donald Trump announced that Israel has agreed to a 10-day ceasefire with Lebanon, which came into force at midnight.  The PDKI posted on X that Iranian drones struck their camp in Koya on Thursday evening. Hours earlier, Komala’s camp was hit again. On Wednesday, a PDKI camp and the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) were also struck. In early March, Trump said he would back Iranian Kurds to launch an offensive against Iran, but later backtracked. Then just a few days before the 8 April ceasefire, the US president said the Kurds had taken weapons sent by the US to arm Iranian protesters. Iranian Kurdish groups have denied receiving any such weapons. 'A deep double standard' Iranian Kurds have been heavily hit during the conflict. Since 28 February, nearly 700 missile and drone attacks have been carried out by Iran and its allied forces targeting Iraqi Kurdistan, according to data gathered by Kurdish news outlet Rojhelat Info. At least 15 people have been killed. This includes around 170 strikes on Iranian Kurdish opposition parties, which have killed six of their fighters. Iranian Kurds deny receiving US weapons to arm Iran's protesters Read More » Iraqi Kurds have opposed plans to use the Iranian Kurds to weaken the Iranian establishment. Last week, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said that the Kurdistan Region was targeted with several drones on 9 April that were intercepted, although it maintains a firm stance “against involvement in conflict or escalation”. Mohammed A Salih, a non-resident senior fellow at the US-based Foreign Policy Research, said that the attacks in Iraq appear to be a violation of the ceasefire. “It also shows a deep double standard in the Iranian position as Tehran is against Lebanese Hezbollah being targeted even though Hezbollah was actively striking Israel during the 39 days of conflict," Salih said. “Yet it insists on attacking Iranian Kurds based in Iraqi Kurdistan even though not a single shot was fired at Iranian troops by these groups during the war.” Even before the war, Iranian Kurdish parties have been frequently targeted by Iran over the years. On 28 September 2020, Iranian missile and drone attacks on Kurdish opposition parties killed at least 16 people. “Tehran has targeted these groups in a variety of ways over decades,” Salih said. The Kurdish threat Hana Yazdanpanah, the foreign relations coordinator for PAK, told Middle East Eye that Iran is wary of the influence Iranian Kurdish opposition parties could have on public opinion as well as political and military developments. “Therefore, through these attacks, Iran wants to prevent that influence and potential from growing,” she said. 'The regime understands that, although limited in number, these groups still have the potential to cause problems' - Ranj Talabani, former PUK intelligence official Ranj Talabani, a former intelligence official at the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s Zanyari agency, told MEE that the attacks are “a permanent reminder to opposition groups not to consider playing any role, now or in the near future, in undermining the Iranian regime”. “The regime understands that, although limited in number, these groups still have the potential to cause problems, not only overtly along the borders, but also covertly deeper in the country.” He said that comments by Iranian Kurdish leaders “calling for US support reinforce the perception in Tehran that Kurdish groups represent a more immediate and capable threat to the regime than the Shah (Reza Pahlavi).” PDKI top official Mawloudi said he hopes the United States will take steps to stop the attacks. But, he added, “we don't think they have a plan like this, the US did not even condemn these attacks.”  Echoing Mawloudi, Yazdanpanah said the US is capable of stopping these attacks. “If the United States warns Iran that if even a single drone is launched in the Kurdistan Region, it will be hit, then they wouldn’t dare fire a single bullet,” she said. War on Iran Erbil, Iraq News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0