When the newly appointed Israeli Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa'ar, gave his first speech before assuming his duties on November 11, 2024, he said: "The Kurdish people are a great nation, one of the largest nations without political independence". His words touched the hearts of millions of Kurds. Many felt gratitude that a top politician acknowledged their plight and their right to exist as people. Unlike many Western politicians and Arab leaders who are frightened to rock the boat with the Mullahs and Erdogan, Mr. Sa'ar continued saying the Kurds have long been victims of Iranian and Turkish oppression, adding that Israel "must reach out and strengthen our ties with them".
The Kurds, especially in the Kurdish region of Iran, are aware that the fundamental aim of Israel's military campaign against the Iranian government has been to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons and to remove an existential threat that it has been hanging over Israelis for years. But Prime Minister Netanyahu's recent speech about regime change has been welcomed by majority of Iranian people, especially by Kurds of Rojhalet, who viewing Israel's war against Iran not just like any war but rather a new hope and a collapse of a regional order that has been in place since the Ayatollahs took power in 1979.
BREAKING: President of the Kurdistan Freedom Party and Kurdish commander Hussein Yazdapanah declares, "The time for uprising and overthrow of the Iranian regime has come. The Iran regime's machine of repression has been completely broken," signaling a new phase of uprising Kurds… pic.twitter.com/Gu1yi0ZcMY
— KGG (@KGG6766) June 13, 2025
This is evident when going through various social media platforms, where we see a gigantic wave of support for PM Netanyahu and expressions of gratitude to the Israeli Defence Forces for taking action against the Iranian regime. The support is coming from all over the region, and not only from Iranians and Kurds.
Whether or not Iran's regime falls, the status quo has already cracked. Israel's military actions have shattered the image of an almighty Iranian army. The IDF's very sophisticated military maneuver and taking out some of Iran's most influential army chiefs and nuclear scientists brought a lot of disgrace to the Ayatollah's regime. Even if the regime survives politically, its day will come, and sooner or later, a new wave of anti-regime protests will erupt.
Speaking with a prominent Kurdish official in Rojhalat (due to safety concerns, the official's name is withheld), I asked if the Kurds and their political representatives support Israel's war against the Iranian regime. Without any hesitation, he says, "Yes, there is a lot of support on a political level." He says, "Kurdish political parties are reevaluating their position in this crucial moment in Middle Eastern geopolitics. We and our people are ready to rise and fight to overthrow the Iranian regime," adding, "we are seeking to make contact with the IDF".
However, he emphasizes that for this to happen, we need two important features: the "IDF continuing with its precision strikes against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Basij forces (a paramilitary volunteer militia within IRGC)," adding Israel's military strikes are playing a major role in weakening these two forces. Secondly, and most importantly, he said "both Israel and the US need to start addressing all the people of Iran in their official statements", explaining it's important to acknowledge the existence of decades-long oppressed ethnic and religious minorities of Iran, which constitute almost 45% of the total population.
BREAKING 🚨: Kurdish armed forces of Eastern Kurdistan declare, "We are ready to fight," in response to rising regional tensions. The statement signals possible military mobilization. pic.twitter.com/YZXWGBT9BY
— KGG (@KGG6766) June 13, 2025
He adds, "Talking about Cyrus, who is a symbol of worthiness only to the Persian people, is not the right approach". He said it's crucial they talk about the "Kurds, Balochis, Azeris, Baahis, Turkmens, and the Arabs of Ahwaz, and of course the Persians too. Not mentioning Iran's minorities is neither fair nor morally right, Let's not forget Iran's last uprising was a minorities-led uprising, and they were the ones who paid the highest price: mass killings, arbitrary arrests, sham trials that led many to be sentenced to death, and thousands received lengthy imprisonment." Iran's last uprising erupted in September 2022, following the death of Kurdish-Iranian woman Zhina Mahsa Amini, who was unlawfully detained and later murdered by the Mullahs' Morality Police for allegedly not complying with Iran's strict Hijab Law.
Speaking with Kurdish activists on the ground and as confirmed by the Kurdish official, the IRGC has started transferring weapons and military equipment from central Persian cities to the Kurdish cities of Sanandaj and Kermanshah in preparation for a possible eruption of anti-regime protests. The official confirms that the Kurds are feeling "an attack against them is coming. IRGC's checkpoints have expanded throughout the Kurdish region. Young people are being arrested for alleged cooperation with Israel, with some already executed for allegedly working as Mossad agents. These arbitrary arrests and sham trials are aiming to plant fear and intimidation among Kurdish civilians". The official continues, "We are ready to fight, but we need assurances that Israel and the US will assist us. We don't want to see a repeat of the Zhina Amini protests, where thousands of our people were brutally murdered by the IRGC and Basij forces, and tens of thousands were rounded up, with no one coming to our aid."
The Kurds in Iran, who constitute as much as 15% of the total population, have long been anti-Ayatollah. In fact, since March 1979, a month after Grand Ayatollah Khomeini declared his "victorious" Islamic revolution, there was a Kurdish uprising that began against his newly established revolutionary government, which immediately responded by brutally cracking down on the Kurdish population.
In August that year, Khomeini issued a Fatwaa (Islamic legal order), authorizing the massacre of Kurdish people, whom Khomeini called koffar (unbelievers). Khomeini referred to the Kurdish language as the "language of Satan" and said, "Like a poison to the health of the revolution (…) No trace of them should be left in the country". He ordered the army, the police, and IRGC units to be deployed throughout the Kurdish region. Kurdish families with small children fled in horror to the mountains. Kurdish civilians were even executed on hospital beds. The heavy-handed military campaign lasted from 1979 to 1983 and resulted in almost 10,000 deaths, almost 1,200 of whom were political prisoners who were executed by sham trials.
The Kurdish people and leaders alike have taken an unprecedented and bold step by openly backing Israel's military actions against the Iranian regime. For example, hours after Israeli strikes on Iran, the leader of the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), headed by the Kurdish General Hussein Yazdanpana, tweeted, "We firmly support Israel's Operation Rising Lion against the Islamic Republic. The destruction of Iran's military infrastructure and war machine will pave the way of the liberation of the people and bring an end to the regime's aggressive and terrorist activities in the region and across the world".
In my opinion, Israel needs to establish a direct line and support Kurdish forces like PAK, forces who share similar values and are natural allies to Israel, as Kurds and Jews share similar experiences of persecution and the denial to exist as people in their indigenous historical homeland. Add to that they are battling the same enemies: Islamists and Arab and Turkish Fascists.
Suzan Quitaz is a Kurdish-Swedish journalist and researcher on Middle Eastern affairs. She was an Israel-based journalist and podcast presenter for an Arabic and English series, "Exposing the Lies – The Voice of Truth from the Middle East" at The Jerusalem Centre for Security and Foreign Affairs.
