Rojhelat (Iranian Kurdistan) has long been a core arena of Kurdish politics, even as the epicentre of mobilisation has shifted at different times to Iraq, Turkey or Syria. Many of the organisations active there today were founded before the Islamic Republic itself and have survived repeated waves of repression and exile. On 22 February 2026, five of the most prominent Iranian Kurdish parties (PDKI, PAK, PJAK, Khabat and Komala) announced the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan, a new joint front. In their founding statement, they committed to working for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic and to securing the Kurdish right to self-determination through a democratic political framework in Rojhelat. Shortly afterwards, US and Israeli airstrikes destroyed many military and security facilities across Iranian Kurdistan. For observers in and around Rojhelat, the timing looked far from accidental: the creation of a unified Kurdish front and the sudden weakening of state infrastructure were widely read as connected developments and expectations quickly grew that Kurdish forces might move to take control of key cities.

The reality on the ground is much less linear than common narratives suggest. Local reporting indicates that while airstrikes have severely damaged military and security infrastructure in several Kurdish towns, the Iranian regime has by no means “hollowed out”. Intelligence networks, local administrators and remaining security forces continue to function and the regime is still able to police daily life and movement. At the same time, the new Kurdish coalition has so far avoided a premature push to seize territory, aware that it lacks both a clear front line and firm international guarantees. Tehran has already responded as if a wider offensive were imminent, targeting the headquarters and camps of Iranian........

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