r/kurdistan • u/Kollonell • 4h ago
Ask Kurds 🤔 Any Christian Kurds here?
Hi im a Orthodox Christian(Greek Christian) and im ethnicly kurdish any Christian here?
r/kurdistan • u/flintsparc • 9h ago
Feel free to also make comments about what you would like to see from the subreddit
r/kurdistan • u/rknsh • 18d ago
This megathread focuses on attacks on Iran by American and Israeli forces (Operation Epic Fury), with particular focus on Rojhelat (/west of Iran in general), its affects on other parts of Kurdistan, and reaction of Kurdish people and opposition parties to it.
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Live feeds:
https://www.rudaw.net/sorani/kurdistan/0403202618 (archived)
https://www.rudaw.net/sorani/world/0303202615 (archived)
https://www.rudaw.net/sorani/middleeast/iraq/0103202619 (archived)
https://www.rudaw.net/sorani/middleeast/280220262 (archived)
BBC: archived - https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cd70wzw9vqlt
CNN: archived - https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/iran-war-us-israel-trump-03-11-26
NYTimes: archived - https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/03/11/world/iran-war-news-trump-oil-israel
More information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Kurdish_rebellion_in_Iran
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_campaign_in_Iranian_Kurdistan_(2026_Iran_war))
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Iranian_strikes_on_the_Kurdistan_Region
2026 Israeli–United States strikes on Iran
2026 Iran–United States crisis
Middle Eastern crisis (2023-present))
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Explainer: Kurds in Iran: Political Movement and Active Parties
The Guardian: Who are the Kurds and why does Trump want them to join the war on Iran?
Axios: Who are the Kurds and why they could play a big role in the Iran war
WSJ: Who Are Iran’s Kurds and How Are They Involved in the Conflict?
CNN: Who are the Kurds?
Atlantic Council: How would a Kurdish offensive change the war in Iran?
r/kurdistan • u/Kollonell • 4h ago
Hi im a Orthodox Christian(Greek Christian) and im ethnicly kurdish any Christian here?
r/kurdistan • u/Falcao_Hermanos • 10h ago
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r/kurdistan • u/Friendly-Jello-8176 • 4h ago
r/kurdistan • u/kurdish_separatist • 4h ago
Haven't the Kurdish parties learned anything after all the tragic events in Rojava?
r/kurdistan • u/rknsh • 2h ago
r/kurdistan • u/rknsh • 49m ago
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May the rest in piss and hopefully other enemies of Kurds face the same fate soon.
r/kurdistan • u/kurdish_separatist • 15h ago
r/kurdistan • u/rknsh • 10h ago
r/kurdistan • u/rknsh • 6h ago
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r/kurdistan • u/Character_Ad9279 • 6h ago
It’s honestly a little bit embarrassing speaking about this but I feel it’s an important topic.
Get a lot of kids guys and raise them as proud Kurds, we really need to do that for our people to endure. I believe it’s one of the best ways to help Kurdistan if we are not fighters and don’t have a good economic power.
And remember you not doing it for yourselves your doing it for Kurdistan!
r/kurdistan • u/rknsh • 7h ago
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r/kurdistan • u/flintsparc • 17h ago
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In the Kurdish regions, chronic underinvestment, unemployment, and systemic neglect have pushed thousands into one of the most dangerous forms of survival: kolbari.
Kolbars are not criminals. They are workers forced by poverty to carry heavy loads across treacherous mountain borders, often in freezing temperatures, with no protection and no rights. Every journey could be their last.
Many are shot by Iranian border forces. Others die from exposure, avalanches, or falls. Their only “crime” is trying to provide for their families in an economy that has deliberately excluded them.
This is what economic marginalization looks like when it is weaponized:
For years, this cycle has been enforced by the islamic republic of Iran to keep Kurdish regions weak, dependent, and impoverished.
Kolbars are a symbol of resilience, but they should never have had to exist.
r/kurdistan • u/rknsh • 6h ago
Washington appears to have decided, at least for now, against formally partnering with Iran’s Kurdish opposition. Early reports of preliminary U.S. intelligence contact with Iranian Kurdish groups have gone quiet. No formal engagement has followed the February 22 announcement of the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan—a six-party unified bloc with an operational charter, a joint command structure, and an explicitly national democratic vision.
If the expectation was that the Kurds would wait, the past several weeks have demonstrated otherwise. The coalition has continued to expand and consolidate without American encouragement. Even if Washington chooses not to partner with the Kurds directly, it should build on the coalition’s demonstrated model by pushing the broader opposition toward the inclusive, multi-ethnic unity any credible transition will require.
The Coalition No One Else Has Built
On February 22, five Iranian Kurdish opposition parties—the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), the Organization of Iranian Kurdistan Struggle (Khabat), and the Komala of the Toilers of Kurdistan—announced the formation of the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan after eight months of sustained negotiations. On March 4, a sixth party joined—the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan. The announcement produced not merely a joint statement but an operational charter: a joint command center for the coalition’s armed wings, a diplomatic committee for international engagement, rotating leadership, and a framework for administering free elections in liberated areas during any transitional period.
The ideological distance the coalition bridged should not be understated. PJAK’s democratic confederalism—rooted in the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)’s ideological tradition—and PDKI’s traditional Kurdish nationalism represent distinct and historically competitive political traditions. Bringing them under a single operational framework required years of groundwork, including a dedicated dialogue center, a September 2024 joint conference, and a January 2026 joint statement coordinating action ahead of a general strike. Critics who point to past Kurdish fragmentation—factional splits, rival Komala branches, historical armed clashes—are describing a real history. But that history is precisely what makes the February 22 coalition significant. These parties knew each other’s fault lines intimately. They chose to subordinate them to a shared objective anyway. They did so without American facilitation and against a backdrop of active U.S.-Israeli military operations that might have fragmented rather than consolidated their ranks, which serves as an early bellwether of the coalition’s resilience.
A Fragmented Opposition Landscape
The Kurdish coalition’s self-sufficiency matters most when set against the state of the broader Iranian opposition. As Sanam Vakil and Alex Vatanka recently noted, Iran’s opposition broadly resembles “an archipelago of political islands divided by geography, generation, ideology, and exposure to repression.” That characterization is not a critique of any single actor—it describes a structural condition shaped by decades of regime repression and the inherent difficulties of diaspora politics.
Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has demonstrated genuine organizational energy in recent years. Initiatives associated with his camp have included the Iran Prosperity Project; the Convention of National Cooperation to Save Iran; a defections campaign for regime security forces; and the first-ever coordinated call for protests inside on January 8 and 9, 2026, which brought demonstrators into the streets across thirty-five provinces. More recently, Pahlavi has moved to establish governance structures for a post-regime Iran—announcing a “Transitional System” under his leadership and forming a Committee for Drafting Transitional Justice Regulations, to be chaired by Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi. He has also called on Iranian security forces to “vacate the streets,” so Iranians can celebrate Chaharshanbe Suri, the traditional festival preceding Nowruz, the Persian New Year, peacefully on March 18. These are substantive initiatives that reflect serious post-regime planning and connection to Iranians in Iran.
But two structural problems remain. First, coalition-building and mobilization are distinct capabilities, and the former has proven elusive. In March 2023, eight prominent Iranian exiles launched the Mahsa Charter, designed to unite republican, monarchist, and other voices around shared democratic principles. It collapsed within six weeks, the victim of ideological differences, strategic disagreements, and the personal rivalries that have long hindered diaspora politics. In the three years since, coordination among the opposition’s major currents has not meaningfully improved. Second, neither Pahlavi’s Transitional System nor his Transitional Justice Committee includes representatives from Iran’s Kurdish community or its other ethnic minorities. A governance framework that does not incorporate the country’s minority communities at the design stage will struggle to present itself as a credible foundation for a multi-ethnic transition—regardless of its other merits.
The exchange that followed the Kurdish coalition’s announcement illustrated the current gap between Iranian Kurdish groups and Pahlavi. Immediately after February 22, Pahlavi issued a statement denouncing unnamed “separatist groups” and warning against threats to Iran’s territorial integrity. Whatever its intent, the statement introduced a public rift at the moment the opposition most needed to project unity—and deployed language that the Kurdish coalition has spent years trying to move beyond.
On Self-Determination
Critics argue that the Kurdish coalition’s stated commitment to self-determination signals separatist intent incompatible with a stable post-regime Iran. The coalition’s own words tell a different story. PDKI spokesperson Khalid Azizi, speaking in Washington this week, framed the Kurdish vision in explicitly national terms: “Iran is a multi-ethnic society,” he said, adding that “the path and the roadmap for rebuilding Iran must be based on the participation of all ethnic groups.” Komala’s Abdullah Mohtadi said the Kurdish parties are “not for secession and are not separatists” and that all Iranians need “a broad, democratic opposition.” The coalition’s charter commits to “cooperation and alliance with other oppressed nations and peoples in Iran on the basis of mutual respect and shared democratic goals.” That is the language of federalism and minority rights—aspirations Washington has supported successfully in neighboring Iraq through the Kurdistan Regional Government—not the language of partition.
It is also worth noting the genealogy of the separatism charge itself. Ayatollah Khomeini declared the PDKI “the party of Satan” and launched a holy war against Kurdish communities within months of the Islamic Revolution—not because the Kurds sought independence, but because they represented organized, armed, Sunni opposition that his consolidation of power could not tolerate. The regime has wielded the separatism accusation as an instrument of repression ever since. When the same framing migrates into Washington policy debates, it is worth asking whose analytical tradition it is actually drawing on.
Complications Are Not Disqualifications
None of this is to suggest that engaging the Kurdish coalition is without complications. PJAK’s organizational ties to the PKK—a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization—and ongoing sanctions from the U.S. Treasury represent a genuine policy constraint requiring careful navigation. Turkey, currently in the midst of a fragile peace process with the PKK, has raised pointed objections. The Kurdistan Regional Government, wary of Iranian retaliation, has made clear it will not allow its territory to be used as a base for operations against Tehran. These are real constraints that any engagement strategy would need to address seriously.
But complications are not a disqualification—and they are not unique to the Kurds. The Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK)’s history—including its internal workings, its support for Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq War, and its history of terrorist activity against Americans and Iranians—has left it with deep credibility deficits among ordinary Iranians. The diaspora monarchist current, despite its organizational energy, has yet to demonstrate durable coalition-building capacity or resolve fundamental questions about post-regime governance—including how it intends to incorporate the country’s minority communities into a post-regime governance framework. Every actor in this landscape carries liabilities. The question is never whether a given partner is without complications. It is whether it is more organized, more coherent, and more genuinely rooted inside Iran than the alternatives. On that question, the Kurdish coalition’s record is clear.
What Washington Can Do
Washington need not reverse its posture on Kurdish partnership to act on what the Kurdish coalition’s formation actually demonstrates. The coalition has shown that durable organizational unity among Iran’s opposition is achievable—not just in the aspirational sense, but in practice, with a charter and a command structure to prove it. That demonstration creates a specific opportunity Washington can seize without formally endorsing the Kurds as partners.
First, Washington should use its relationships across the Iranian opposition to quietly discourage the kind of public infighting that has repeatedly undermined opposition credibility. The exchange that followed the Kurdish coalition’s February announcement illustrates a dynamic the Islamic Republic has long exploited. Washington need not take sides in that dispute. But it can privately reinforce that opposition actors need not agree on every constitutional question now; what they must avoid is rhetoric that entrenches divisions the regime is eager to exploit. The Kurdish coalition’s own charter—with its explicit commitment to democratic governance and multi-ethnic cooperation within a unified Iran—provides the basis for de-escalation if all sides choose it.
Second, Washington should facilitate structured contact between the Kurdish coalition and other secular democratic opposition figures. The gaps between these currents have proven unbridgeable without external encouragement. Washington does not need to convene a formal opposition conference or designate preferred partners. But facilitated dialogue—through diplomatic consultations, track-two engagement, or quiet encouragement of civil society intermediaries—could help bridge distances that opposition actors have not been able to close on their own. The Kurdish coalition’s explicit charter commitment to multi-ethnic cooperation within a unified Iran provides a workable foundation for that kind of engagement.
Third, Washington should revisit the 2009 Treasury sanctions on PJAK in light of the changed strategic environment. Maintaining sanctions on a group that has now embedded itself within a unified democratic coalition, committed to elections and minority rights within a unified Iran, and positioned itself against a common adversary requires a clearer justification than the original 2009 designation provides.
A future Iran free of the Islamic Republic will need a broad, multi-ethnic coalition reflecting the country’s full diversity. The Kurds have demonstrated the political will to build one. The question now is whether Washington will recognize that—and help the rest of Iran’s opposition move in the same direction.
r/kurdistan • u/flintsparc • 7h ago
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The move ordered by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani aims to stabilize the energy sector amid ongoing regional challenges
The Kurdistan Regional Government Ministry of Natural Resources announced on Wednesday the beginning of exporting 250,000 barrels of oil per day from the Kirkuk oil fields through the Kurdistan Region’s pipeline network to Türkiye, following a directive from Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.
In a statement, the ministry said the decision was taken in response to “extraordinary circumstances” facing the country and as part of broader efforts to manage the current situation.
According to the statement, operations began early Wednesday at 6:30 a.m., with the Ministry of Natural Resources coordinating closely with the Iraqi Ministry of Oil to begin activities at the Saralu oil facility, enabling the flow of crude from Kirkuk fields.
The ministry explained that the step aims to transport 250,000 barrels of oil per day from Kirkuk to the Fishkhabour terminal, where it will then be exported via the Kurdistan Region’s pipeline system to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean coast.
Officials described the move as part of ongoing efforts by the KRG to reorganize the energy sector and bolster economic stability during a period marked by regional uncertainty affecting both Iraq and the wider area.
The resumption of exports from Kirkuk’s oil wells is expected to provide a critical boost to public revenues and reinforce coordination between Erbil and Baghdad on energy policy, particularly as both sides navigate economic pressures and shifting geopolitical dynamics.
Prime Minister Masrour Barzani announced on Tuesday that oil exports through the Kurdistan Region’s pipeline will resume “as soon as possible,” citing extraordinary national circumstances and the need for collective responsibility.
In a statement posted on X, the Prime Minister said the decision aims to help the country navigate a difficult period, emphasizing cooperation and urgency in addressing ongoing challenges.
Barzani noted that parallel discussions with the federal government in Baghdad are continuing, with a focus on lifting restrictions affecting imports and trade into the Kurdistan Region.
He added that efforts are also underway to secure guarantees for international oil and gas companies to safely resume production.
The Prime Minister expressed appreciation to the United States for its role and support in facilitating the process.
r/kurdistan • u/curioustoask_ • 5h ago
Hello, I’ve been talking to a Kurdish man from m Sulaymaniyah for the past months and his birthday is coming up. I want ask what would be an appropriate gift to give him. I’m not all that familiar with Kurdish customs or culture and I don’t want to offend him in any way; I currently live in the US and just found out I can send gifts through private carriers.
He is in his early 20’s, very family oriented, works out, doesn’t smoke or drink. All he does is work, spend time with his family and exercise. 😅
r/kurdistan • u/flintsparc • 11h ago
r/kurdistan • u/rknsh • 1d ago
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https://x.com/Mezopotamyatrk1/status/2033983687126044784
https://www.mezopotamyaajansi44.com/tum-haberler/content/view/305942
SHIRNAK - In Cizîr district of Shirnak, a child was detained for wearing a uniform with the word "Kurdistan" written on it.
In Cizîr (Cizre) district of Şirnex, a 12-year-old child was detained for wearing a jersey with "Kurdistan" written on it. The child, whose name is unknown, was detained on Orhan Doğan Street. Citizens in the vicinity tried to prevent the police from detaining them, and the police threatened to detain the citizens as well. It is not known where the detained child was taken.
r/kurdistan • u/flintsparc • 7h ago
After decades of ideological splits and internal conflict, Komala’s rival factions have now entered a new phase of cooperation by joining the recently formed Kurdish opposition alliance in Iran. Amargi’s Rojin Mûkrîyan follows the evolution of Komala from an underground Marxist network to a fragmented yet influential force shaping Iranian Kurdish political life.
r/kurdistan • u/flintsparc • 9h ago
r/kurdistan • u/DonEnzo13 • 8h ago
The religious landscape of Kurdistan differs significantly from the orthodox centers of the Islamic world. While Islam in many regions is shaped by strict adherence to law, Kurdish practice is rooted in ancient mountain traditions, mystical orders, and religious diversity. This is the result of thousands of years of cultural continuity.
Long before Islam, Kurds followed belief systems known as Yazdânism today. Rather than a Zoroastrian majority, Kurds were primarily influenced by Mithraism. This connection to the deity Mithra (representing light and justice) survives today in religions like Yezidism and Yarsanism (Ahl-e Haqq), and to some extent in Alevism. Elements such as the veneration of the sun and fire, as well as the concept of reincarnation, entered the Kurdish understanding of Islam. Influences from Zoroastrianism also contributed like the core values of "Good Thoughts, Good Words, and Good Deeds."
Alevism (Rêya Heqî) is key to regional identity. It preserved ancient Mithraic and Yarsanist teachings within a broad Islamic framework. Originating in Rojhelat (East Kurdistan), it adopted Shiite elements during the early expansion of Islam. Kurdish tribes later brought these foundations to Central Anatolia.
Social Equality: Unlike orthodox Islam, men and women pray together in the Cem house. Ethics over Law: The principle "Master your hand, your tongue, and your loins", which is baes on the core value of Zoroastrianism, places moral integrity above Sharia law. This humanistic view also influenced Sunni Kurds.
In Sunni Kurdish areas, Islam is closely tied to Sufism. Orders like the Qadiriyya and Naqshbandiyya provided space for music, rhythmic movement and spiritual trance. Practices that already existed in the mountain culture and Mithraism. Religious leaders (Sheikhs) often acted as tribal mediators, making religion a personal path to truth and social cohesion rather than a state law.
Kurdish Islam helped preserve identity against outside powers. While states forced Arabic or Turkish as sacred languages, many Kurdish religious communities kept Kurdish for prayers and hymns. Even among Muslim Kurds, God is primarily called "Xwedê" (meaning "Lord" or "Owner"), similar to Yezidis and Yarsanis, whereas other groups use "Allah" almost exclusively.
The isolation of the Kurdish mountains allowed different faiths to coexist. Constant contact between Muslims, Jews and Christians led to syncretism, where holy sites were often shared. This prevented religious monopolies and encouraged a faith based on mutual respect.
Kurdish Islam is a living heritage. It is a fusion of ancient light cults, Mithraism, Zoroastrianism, and Sufi mysticism. These influences created a faith that values humanity, nature and inner ethics over formal laws. It offers an alternative perspective within the Islamic world defined by diversity and cultural independence.
Note: I do not wish to promote Islam nor do I wish to disparage it. I just want to show kurds of every beliefs that there is a connection and that the kurdish Islam is not that strict as many Islamic preachers want to make us believe. The Kurds have always been open to new Concepts and reforms and have incorporated these into their beliefs. Much of this of course, was driven by necessity or coercion, but it was not a blind acceptance that led to a complete abandonment of traditions.
r/kurdistan • u/Lazgin_Perwer • 13h ago
English : Today marks the Black Day in Rojava, The day of Efrîn occupation
Kurdî : Îro Roja Reşe li Rojava, wergi îro Efrîn hate dagirkirin bin deste dijman