Kurds waving flags in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Photo by Levi Meir Clancy/Unsplash.

On July 17, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched combined drone and missile assaults against Iranian Kurdish opposition parties in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq. Since hostilities between Iran and the United States began in February, approximately 150 Kurds have reportedly been killed or injured, while thousands more have been displaced, leaving Kurdish people inside Iran and across the region among the main victims of a war they did not choose. The latest escalation, which killed at least nine Peshmerga fighters and wounded several others, represents another chapter in a widening cycle of violence that has placed Kurds at the centre of a struggle shaped by competing powers.

When the US made regime change in Iran an explicit aim of the war, some Kurds in Iran and Iraq saw an opportunity for political change. Their concerns were shaped not only by decades of repression inside Iran but also by the Iranian government’s actions beyond its borders. Iranian Kurdish opposition groups based in the region have repeatedly faced cross-border attacks, while Kurdistan Region residents have also raised concerns over Iranian military strikes, alleged intelligence operations, and interference in their internal affairs.

Some hoped that the weakening of the Iranian regime by US attacks might create an opportunity for a more democratic future and greater recognition of Kurdish rights. Those expectations soon gave way to disappointment. Many other Kurds remained deeply skeptical of Washington’s intentions, knowing from past experience that the US has often prioritized its strategic interests over the aspirations of local communities.

Any hopes that Washington might support Kurdish........

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