Latest news with #KurdistanDemocraticPartyofIran
Shafaq News
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Kurdistan's Interior Minister: Iran border threat eliminated
Shafaq News/ Iranian Kurdish opposition groups no longer pose a military or security threat along the shared border, Kurdistan Region Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed stated on Wednesday. Ahmed confirmed to reporters that the joint high committee established by Iran, Iraq, and the Kurdistan Region had completed its mandate, emphasizing that bilateral relations have now reached a 'constructive and advanced stage.' Addressing concerns over Iranian Kurdish opposition groups, he noted that 'appropriate measures' had been taken and 'these forces no longer represent a security or military threat along the shared border.' In September 2023, the joint high committee overseeing the implementation of the Iraq-Iran security agreement announced the complete evacuation of camps and headquarters belonging to Iranian Kurdish opposition parties in the Kurdistan Region, in preparation for reclassifying them as refugees. The disarmament deadline under the Iraq-Iran security pact expired on September 19, 2023. Iranian officials had earlier threatened military action against the groups if Baghdad failed to implement the terms. About Kurdish Iranian Opposition The Iranian Kurdish opposition comprises various political and armed movements advocating for Kurdish rights, many of which have been based in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Below is a summary of the key groups: • Kurdi stan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI): Founded in 1945, led by Mustafa Hijri • Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan: Founded in 1969, led by Abdullah Mohtadi • Khabat (Or ganization of Iranian Kurdistan Struggle): Founded in 1980, led by Babashekh Hosseini • Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK): Founded in 1991, led by Hussein Yazdanpanah • Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK): Founded in 2004, led by Siamand Moeini and Zilan Vejin Iran has also launched cross-border strikes targeting their facilities, with operations by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) involving missiles and drones. Tehran has accused these groups of contributing to unrest within its borders. Earlier, the Kurdistan Regional Government stated that it does not permit any group to use its territory to threaten neighboring states.
Rudaw Net
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Mahabad Kurd jailed in Iran for alleged KDPI links
Also in Iran US sanctions target Iranian drone, missile networks Iran threatens shift toward nuclear arms if attacked by US or Israel Iran summons Swiss envoy to protest US 'threats,' potential Israeli 'mischief': FM Iranian intelligence block access to Qazi Muhammad's tomb on execution anniversary A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Kurd from Mahabad in Iran's West Azerbaijan province has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for allegedly collaborating with the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI). Notably, family members of the convicted individual were previously targeted by Iranian authorities, a watchdog reported on Thursday. Thirty-two-year-old Wahab Khediripour 'was sentenced to 10 months in prison by the [Islamic] Revolutionary Court' of Mahabad, reported the Oslo-based Hengaw Organization for Human Rights on Thursday, citing family members as stating that he was being jailed for allegedly "collaborating with' the KDPI. Iran has long been locked down in a conflict with exiled Kurdish opposition groups, including the KDPI, which it designates as a terrorist organization. The groups additionally include Komala, the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK) and the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK). Hengaw also noted on Thursday that Wahab Khediripour's brother, Sohrab, was killed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in 2021 for allegedly being a member of the KDPI. His cousin, Shamal Khediripour, was also one of the victims during the Jin Jiyan Azadi (Woman, Life, Freedom) uprising in 2022, the watchdog added. In mid-September 2022, a Kurdish woman, Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, died in police custody after being arrested for allegedly violating Iran's compulsory hijab law. Her death sparked nationwide protests in Iran - the longest protest movement the country had seen in four decades. These demonstrations then grew into an anti-government uprising, with Iranian authorities facing international criticism for their brutal crackdown, which resulted in hundreds of deaths and thousands of arrests. Hengaw added on Thursday that Khediripour has been denied family visits and access to legal counsel during his detention. His sentence follows his January detention, after which he was 'temporarily released from the city's [Mahabad's] central prison on February 19, 2025, after three weeks of detention on bail of 500 million Tomans [around $6,250 at the time] pending the completion of his trial.' Following Khediripour's January arrest, Iranian Kurdish opposition groups called for a general strike across shops and businesses across the country's Kurdish-majority regions.
Rudaw Net
02-03-2025
- Business
- Rudaw Net
KDPI spokesperson welcomes Ocalan's call for disarmament
Also in Iran Iranian parliament dismisses finance minister Iranian MPs push for finance minister's removal Bodies of 6 mountaineers found after avalanche in Iran's Kurdistan province Deadly avalanche hits Iran's Kurdistan province A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The main Iranian opposition group based in the Kurdistan Region on Saturday welcomed the call by Abdullah Ocalan, leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), for his group to disarm and pursue a democratic solution to the Kurdish issue with Ankara after nearly four-decades of conflict. The spokesperson for the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), Khalid Azizi, told Rudaw that Kurds across all four parts of Kurdistan are likely to follow a similar path as well. Kurds believe that Greater Kurdistan is divided into four parts, which include Kurdistan Region in Iraq (Bashur), western Iran (Rojhelat), southeast Turkey (Bakur) and northeast Syria (Rojava). 'I believe that the Kurdish issue, across all parts of Kurdistan, will likely move in the same direction. The truth is that the Kurdish issue can no longer be ignored in Turkey, Iraq, Syria, or Iran,' Azizi explained. A letter by Ocalan was made public on Thursday in which he called for the PKK to disarm and disband, offering a glimmer of hope for an end to the conflict between Turkey and the PKK, a war that has claimed over 40,000 lives. 'The KDPI believes that the best solution to the Kurdish issue across all four parts of Kurdistan is through peaceful means, dialogue, and negotiations, in which both sides [Turkey, PKK] unite to find a solution,' Azizi added. However, Azizi pointed out that it may be too early to draw any conclusions about the outcomes of the PKK's disarmament, noting the significance of the increased attention the Kurdish issue has received from the Turkish parliament, media and non-Kurdish parties. 'The Kurdish issue cannot be ignored anymore,' Azizi stressed. The KDPI official further explained the need for taking 'steps toward trust-building, developing mutual trust, and establishing a mechanism that ensures the [peace] process [between the PKK and Turkey] advances even amid challenges' remains to be a 'crucial factor' for the peace process in Turkey to reach a favorable conclusion. Azizi also stressed the importance of Turkish authorities and the PKK working together to strengthen democracy and uphold it. For its part, Iran's foreign ministry on Friday welcomed Ocalan's call for the PKK to lay down arms, describing it as 'an important step towards rejecting violence.' Of note, Iran has also been long locked down in a conflict with exiled Kurdish opposition groups, which it, like Turkey, labels as terrorist organizations. The groups are the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), Komala, the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), and the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK). These groups were previously based in the Kurdistan Region close to the border with Iran, but were moved away from the frontier following a 2023 security pact signed between Baghdad and Tehran.
