SouthernWorldwide.com – A recent wave of attacks targeting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the country’s western, Kurdish-majority regions has sparked debate among experts regarding a potential resurgence of Kurdish insurgency. This development coincides with ongoing, albeit fragile, diplomatic discussions between Iran and the United States.
The significance of these clashes extends beyond Iran’s immediate border areas. Kurdish opposition groups were previously considered a potential leverage point against Iran during the U.S.-Israeli conflict involving Tehran. Now, some Kurdish voices express concern about being left vulnerable as Washington and Tehran re-engage in delicate diplomacy.
In recent days, Iranian security forces have sustained casualties in multiple reported attacks and skirmishes across western and northwestern Iran. According to an analysis by Seth J. Frantzman for The Jerusalem Post, citing Iraq’s Shafaq News, four Iranian security personnel were killed and several others injured in two separate armed assaults on Tuesday.
Tasnim News, an Iranian outlet with close ties to the IRGC, reported that two IRGC members were killed and two others wounded in what it described as an “armed terrorist attack” in Paveh, a border city in Iran’s Kermanshah Province. In Baneh, Iran, gunmen attacked a police checkpoint, resulting in the deaths of two police officers and injuries to three other individuals, including a three-year-old girl, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Clashes have reportedly spread to Paveh, Marivan, and Mahabad in Iran, according to the outlet, which referenced Rojhelat.Info, a media source focusing on Kurdish affairs. The attack in Paveh was claimed by a lesser-known armed group called Xore Heva, or “Sun of Hope.” The group stated the attack was in retaliation for Iran’s suppression of protests that erupted following the death of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman, in 2022. Amini, 22, died after being detained by Iran’s morality police for allegedly violating the country’s mandatory hijab rules, as reported by The National.
The Kurds represent one of the largest stateless ethnic groups in the Middle East, with communities dispersed across Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. Within Iran, a significant Kurdish population resides in the country’s mountainous west and northwest. Here, Kurdish opposition groups have long alleged political repression, executions, forced assimilation, and military crackdowns by the Iranian government.
Conversely, Iranian authorities perceive armed Kurdish factions as separatist or terrorist threats, particularly groups like PJAK, which has engaged in prolonged clashes with the IRGC along Iran’s western frontier. The conflict is not solely ethnic; it is deeply political, fueled by Kurdish demands for rights and autonomy, Iran’s fear of separatism, and the IRGC’s role in quelling dissent in border regions.
“It appears this could be an escalation,” stated Doabi, referring to the reported spread of clashes. She suggested that while the initial attack seemed framed by Kurdish forces as retaliation, its geographic expansion indicates the confrontation may persist.
Doabi elaborated that Kurdish discontent is fueled not only by recent casualties but also by a pervasive sense that Iran has been able to systematically target Kurdish areas and opposition groups without facing repercussions. “The Kurdish people in Iran are very dissatisfied that the IRGC can attack Kurdish parties and Kurdish fighters and no one reacts,” Doabi observed.
This surge in violence occurs as Iran progresses with a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Washington, a development that has drawn criticism from Iranian opposition circles. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had approved the U.S.-Iran memorandum after receiving assurances that Iran’s rights would be safeguarded, according to IranWire. Iranian officials have portrayed the deal as having the backing of top officials, even as internal critics have voiced opposition to the arrangement, as also reported by IranWire.
Doabi expressed deep skepticism from Kurdish parties regarding any MOU or negotiated agreement with Iran. She noted that many Kurds believe such a deal would primarily serve to strengthen the current regime. “Kurdish parties do not believe that making a deal with this regime can help the people in Iran,” Doabi asserted. “Their position is that a deal would only strengthen the regime.”
She further commented that many Kurds in Iran are “very angry” at the prospect of any agreement with Iran, citing decades of repression, arrests, and killings in Kurdish territories. “It is going to be very dangerous for people in Iran, and especially in Kurdistan, Azerbaijan and Baluchistan,” Doabi warned, “because that is where much of the resistance and activism is.”
The Kurdish groups currently under heightened scrutiny include the Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan, known as PJAK, and its armed wing, the East Kurdistan Defense Units, or YRK. Earlier in June, IranWire reported that the YRK accused the IRGC of launching artillery and mortar attacks against its positions near Marivan, Iran, beginning June 8, which the YRK described as a defensive response. At the time, Iranian official outlets had not commented on the YRK’s casualty claims, according to IranWire.
This regional sensitivity was evident earlier in 2026, when reports surfaced suggesting that Kurdish opposition groups might open a new front against Iran during the U.S.-Israeli conflict involving Tehran. Reuters reported in March that Israel had been supporting plans by Iranian Kurdish militias to seize border areas within Iran, though the outlet noted that significant advances would likely require U.S. and Israeli backing. Five long-standing Iranian dissident groups, including PJAK, the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, and the Kurdistan Freedom Party, had formed an alliance, Reuters also reported.
During the conflict, Trump indicated to Reuters that he would be “all for it” if the Kurds decided to act against Iran, stating their objective should be “to win.” However, Reuters also reported that Kurdish commanders were frustrated by a lack of a clear U.S. or Israeli strategy, and Iran’s threats deterred Kurdish forces from launching an incursion.
Later regional reports claimed that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had persuaded Trump to abandon a plan to arm Iranian opposition groups and Iraqi Kurdish groups against Tehran. Israeli media reported on June 6 that Erdogan had urged Trump to scrap the proposal after details were allegedly leaked to Turkey by White House officials.
While the latest violence does not definitively confirm a coordinated insurgency, the reported spread of clashes across multiple Kurdish areas, the claimed involvement of Kurdish militant factions, and the Kurdish opposition to ongoing U.S.-Iran talks suggest that Iran’s western borderlands could become a new area of pressure for Tehran. This occurs at a critical juncture when the regime is striving to maintain both internal control and fragile diplomatic momentum.
