'Peshmerga fight Iran in Rojhalat, not Kurdistan Region'

ERBIL, Kurdistan (Kurdistan24) – The leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party-Iran (PDKI) states that the clashes with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards have not been on the Iran border with Kurdistan Region and therefore Iran has no excuse to bomb the region.

Mustafa Hijri, Secretary General of the PDKI, in an exclusive interview with Kurdistan24, talked about the recent clashes between PDKI Peshmerga and Iranian forces in Kurdish cities of Iran (Rojhalat), stating “The conflict did not mean reviving resistance, but continuing the decades-old liberation movement and reuniting the Peshmerga with the people.”

Hijri revealed that Peshmerga forces sent to Rojhelat were instructed not to attack the government institutions and they followed orders. “Iranian Revolutionary Guards attacked the Peshmerga forces who had to defend themselves,” he added.

On June 15, clashes erupted between the PKDI Peshmerga fighters and Iranian Revolutionary Guards when Iranian troops opened fire on a group of PDKI forces near the village of Qarasaqil in Shino, northeast of Iran.

Hijri explained that Iranian propaganda is to claim that Rojhalat Kurds are silent, not because they are severely suppressed but because they live happily, a lie that the outrageous rates of executions and imprisonments reveals.  He added that “Iran has been the source of crises for Iran and other countries in the region.”

The leader of PKDI stated that Iran believes neither in negotiations nor in equal rights for Kurds, so political parties who believe Kurdish issues can be resolved in Iran only through negotiation are out of touch with realities.

“We have resumed armed struggle after 20 years because we cannot passively wait and have to take concrete steps to attract the attention of the international community to the extreme suppression of Kurds in Iran,” Hijri added.

The PDKI leader said the party’s initiative to fight the Iranian forces provided them with the opportunity to start a more effective and serious dialogue with other Kurdish and Iranian opposition political parties. “We are fighting for a democratic, federal Iran where the rights of Kurds and all other nations will be preserved and we can have self-ruled administrations,” Hijri stated.

Hijri denied Iran’s claim that PDKI has received funds from Saudi Arabia, saying Iranian conspiracy theory has been repeated too many times throughout history. “All we rely on is Peshmerga forces and the people of Rojhelat,” he said.

On June 25, the Saudi Arabia Consulate in Erbil also denied the allegations made by Iran that Saudi Arabia supports the opposition parties to launch attacks inside the country.

Iran does not allow any opposition to officially and legally be active in Iran, silencing any voice that criticizes the Supreme Leader of Iran, who is called the representative of God on Earth, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.  

Hijri concluded that Peshmerga forces have been active inside and not on the border and Iran has no right to turn the clashes into an excuse to bomb Kurdistan Region. “Our forces have not fired a single shot on the borders with the Kurdistan Region.”  

On June 26, Iranian artillery began to heavily shell Haji Omaran and Sidakan areas and injured four civilians in the Province of Erbil located on the Kurdistan border with Iran. Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) urged Iran to stop sacrificing innocent lives and invading the Region.

PDKI was founded in the city of Mahabad in Rojhalat on Aug. 16, 1945. According to the party officials, PDKI has been the forefront of resistance against Iranian regimes for more than 70 years

Editing by Ava Homa
(Ammar Najmaddin conducted the interview)