Kurds And Iran’s Political Crisis: Why The World’s Largest Stateless Nation Is Back In Focus 

Amid rising tensions and airstrikes on Iran in 2026, Kurdish groups emerged as a key factor in discussions about Iran’s internal stability.  U.S president Donald Trump offered support to Iranian Kurdish opposition leaders to claim the stakes in power, considering the possibility of support for Kurdish militias along the Iran–Iraq border.

If toppling Tehran outright appeared elusive,  Washington may have been thinking of reprising a dangerous  strategy  that risked pushing Iran down the path of  the 2003 invasion of Iraq, when the toppling of Saddam Hussein unleashed years of sectarian violence and regional instability.

An uprising by the Kurds and other minorities like the Azeris, Baluchis, Arabs and Sunni Muslims scattered across Iran could help further destabilise the country. So it is no surprise that US President Donald Trump held a telephone call with two of Iraqi Kurdistan’s top leaders recently.

The buzz was that an alliance of six Iranian Kurdish groups, reportedly backed by the United States, was preparing to enter Iran to support a US-Israeli campaign to further weaken the regime. 

However, Trump later ruled out the possibility of supporting Kurdish groups, saying he did not want Kurdish fighters drawn deeper into an already complex conflict. By then, a few Kurdish factions indicated they could target Iranian security forces if backed by international support. Meanwhile Mojtaba Khamenei became the supreme leader of Iran on March 8, 2026. 

Developments in the past 10 days highlight how Kurdish political aspirations —ranging from statehood, homeland to autonomy and broader political change—are increasingly part of debates about Iran’s future.

For decades, Kurdish political groups such as the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Free Life Party have advocated greater cultural rights, political representation and varying degrees of self-rule within a federal or democratic Iran. 

Kurdish regions became a key centre of dissent during the Mahsa Amini protests and continue to witness periodic strikes, demonstrations and security crackdowns amid the country’s broader political crisis. In 2026, several Kurdish parties came together under the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan, signalling renewed efforts to coordinate political demands and mobilise support as domestic unrest and regional tensions around Iran intensify.

Who are the Kurds?

The Kurds are an ancient ethnic community - an Indo-Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region known as Kurdistan, which today spans across Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. 

According to Kurdish scholar Abbas Vali, Kurdish identity has historically been shaped by a complex interaction of tribal structures, regional loyalties and the politics of modern nation-states. In his work on ‘Kurdish genealogy and nationalism’, Vali argues that Kurdish society was not originally organised as a unified nation but as a network of tribes and local polities across the mountainous regions of West Asia. The emergence of modern states such as Turkey, Iran and Iraq in the 20th century transformed these local identities into a broader political consciousness as Kurds began to articulate claims for recognition and autonomy.

Vali also explains that Kurdish nationalism developed partly in response to the policies of these states, which often suppressed Kurdish language, culture and political organisation in the process of building centralised national identities. As a result, Kurdish identity evolved as both a cultural and political project, shaped by resistance to exclusion and marginalisation. In this sense, Kurdish nationalism cannot be understood only as an ethnic movement but as a historical response to state formation and geopolitical divisions that left the Kurds dispersed across several countries without a nation-state of their own.

One of the largest State-less ethnic groups

Kurdish political aspirations date back centuries, but modern Kurdish nationalism grew after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire following World War I. Although the Treaty of Sèvres briefly proposed a Kurdish state, it was never implemented, leaving Kurds divided among several nation-states.

Today, Kurds are estimated to number 30–40 million people, making them one of the largest stateless ethnic groups in the world. Large Kurdish populations live in southeastern Turkey, northern Iraq, western Iran and northern Syria, with diaspora communities across Europe and West Asia.

Kurdish identity is rooted in language, tribal traditions, music, folklore and a strong sense of regional belonging. The Kurdish language has several major dialects, including Kurmanji and Sorani, and cultural practices such as the Newroz spring festival remain important symbols of Kurdish unity.

Kurdish movements have played major roles in regional conflicts and autonomy struggles, particularly in Iraq and Syria. Kurdish forces were key allies of international coalitions in the fight against the Islamic State, and Kurdish political demands continue to shape geopolitics in West Asia.

Important Kurdish political groups 

The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI/KDPI) is one of the oldest Kurdish political organisations in Iran, founded in 1945. It advocates Kurdish autonomy within a federal and democratic Iran rather than full independence. The party briefly held power during the Republic of Mahabad. After the Iranian Revolution, the group clashed with the Iranian state and today largely operates from bases in Iraqi Kurdistan.

The Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) was established in 2004 and functions as an armed Kurdish militant organisation active along the Iran–Iraq border. It seeks greater political and cultural rights for Kurds in Iran. PJAK is ideologically linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Turkey. The Iranian government considers it a terrorist organisation and has conducted several military operations against it.

The Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan (Komala) was founded in 1969 as a Marxist–Leninist Kurdish revolutionary movement. It played a significant role in armed resistance against the Iranian government following the 1979 revolution. Over time, the movement split into several factions with socialist and social-democratic orientations. Today it primarily operates as a political opposition group advocating Kurdish rights and federalism.

The Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), formed in 1991, promotes Kurdish nationalism and the idea of Kurdish independence. The group has maintained armed units operating near Iran’s western borders. It has also cooperated with Kurdish forces in regional conflicts, including fighting against the Islamic State. Although smaller than other Kurdish organisations, it remains active within Kurdish political networks in the region.

The future of Kurdish groups will likely depend on regional geopolitics, internal unity and the policies of states such as Iran, Turkey and Iraq. While organisations like the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Free Life Party continue to push for greater autonomy and political rights, their prospects remain uncertain amid security crackdowns, regional rivalries and shifting international support. Nonetheless, Kurdish political movements will remain a significant force in West Asian politics.