By Sofia Amini, Iranian Kurdistan and PDKI representative to the UNPO

Kurdistan, meaning “the land of the Kurds,” is home to more than 40 million Kurds. The Kurds are among the oldest indigenous peoples of West Asia, yet they remain the largest nation in the world without an independent state of their own. Following the First World War, Kurdistan was divided among Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Türkiye, a division that has profoundly shaped the Kurdish national movement. In Iran, Kurds have faced decades of systematic oppression and denial of cultural and linguistic rights, from the era of Reza Shah Pahlavi (1925–1941) through the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979.

However, Kurds in Eastern (Iranian) Kurdistan, like their brothers and sisters in other parts of Kurdistan, have throughout history struggled for their legitimate national rights. From generation to generation, they have mobilized politically and socially. They have stood up against oppression and state violence. Despite enduring systematic oppression, they have persisted in their struggle and demanded dignity, justice, and equality.

In modern times, the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) has led the struggle of Kurds in this part of Kurdistan. Founded in Mahabad on August 16, 1945, the PDKI’s vision is to secure Kurdish self-rule and national rights. A vision that was realized through the declaration of the Republic of Kurdistan on January 22, 1946. However, the Republic was short-lived. Qazi Mohammad — revered as Peshawa among the Kurds and the president of the republic — along with several members of his cabinet, were all executed by the Iranian monarchy, and the PDKI were banned. 

In the early stages of the revolution in 1979, the PDKI returned from exile under the leadership of Dr. Abdul-Rahman Ghassemlou to continue to pursue Kurdish self-determination in Kurdistan and promote democracy for Iran through dialogue and negotiation. In response, the leadership of the newly established Islamic Republic, under Ayatollah Khomeini, banned the PDKI and declared jihad, meaning “holy war” in Islam, against the Kurdish people. This war continued until the mid-1990s and resulted in the deaths of an estimated 50,000 Kurdish civilians and 5,000 Peshmerga fighters and party cadres.

On July 14, 1989, Iran’s president at the time, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, invited representatives of the PDKI to Vienna to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the Kurdish issue with Iranian diplomats. The negotiations, however, proved to be a pretext. During the meeting, PDKI leader Dr. Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou and members of his delegation were assassinated by the Iranian diplomats.

The Iranian regime also assassinated Dr. Sadegh Sharafkandi—Ghassemlou’s successor—along with his aides in 1992 in Berlin. In a rare and unified act of condemnation of Iranian state terrorism and the assassination of Kurdish leaders on European soil, member states of the European Union recalled their ambassadors from Tehran.

However, despite the high price the PDKI has paid to achieve freedom and peace, its preferred means of attaining democracy and self-rule remains dialogue and negotiation. The PDKI’s vision for the future of Iran is a secular, democratic and federal democracy in which the rule of law is upheld and Iran’s various national minorities, together comprising half the population, enjoy self-rule within their regions.

Moreover, as part of its broader strategy for Iran, the PDKI pursues sustainable domestic and international peace based on respect for ethnic and religious diversity, secularism, gender equality, and social justice. 

The PDKI’s vision is not just an ideological aspiration; it is also a response to the structural sources of instability that have long affected Iran, the region and international security. To understand why a secular, democratic and federal system is essential, we must address the dominant narrative that portrays political change as inherently dangerous.

Why a secular, democratic and federal democracy is essential for stability

Some individuals and groups who embrace the Iranian regime’s propaganda and internalize its narratives promote frightening scenarios about a post-regime Iran. These scenarios are based on highly tenuous assumptions and often predict an inevitable civil war or assert that foreign powers will compete to control the country’s natural resources. 

This line of reasoning closely resembles the Iranian regime’s narrative that authoritarian continuity is a prerequisite for stability. It implies that the risks of change outweigh the well-documented consequences of maintaining a regime that has caused instability regionally and globally for nearly five decades.

Those who knowingly or unknowingly adopt the Iranian regime’s propaganda turn a blind eye to nearly five decades of oppression and rule by fear. They ignore a record defined not only by systematic state oppression and human rights violations, but also by the profound social, economic, and political damage inflicted on the country. 

A brief look at the regime’s history shows that the internal policies of the Islamist regime in Iran have resulted in widespread violations of human rights, entrenched poverty, severe social problems and staggering levels of corruption, accompanied by the plundering of the state’s resources and assets. Rather than serving the population, the regime has prioritized ideological control and self-enrichment at the expense of dignity, justice, and development.

Externally, the regime’s policies have fueled sectarian conflict and war, supported terrorism, caused widespread destruction, and acted as a profoundly destabilizing force. Not only has the Iranian regime been involved in terrorism, it is also widely recognized as the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism. The regime provides extensive financial, military, and logistical support to a network of terrorist groups and proxy militias, including Hezbollah, the Houthis, and numerous armed groups operating in Iran, Syria, Iraq, and beyond. These interventions have deepened regional insecurity, facilitated in state failure most notably in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen, as well as prolonged cycles of violence.

For these and many other reasons, the region and the wider international community cannot achieve lasting peace or meaningful stability as long as the Islamic Republic remains in power. Only a secular, federal, democratic Iran grounded in the rule of law, respect for human rights, and national rights and freedoms of the different national minorities in the country, can provide a foundation for lasting peace.

Today, we are witnessing countrywide protests across Iran. What was triggered by economic grievances has transformed into the largest anti-government demonstrations in years. The peoples of Iran from all segments of society are taking to the streets to demand an end to the Islamic Republic. 

After nearly five decades of systematic state oppression, large segments of society have reached a breaking point and are willing to put their lives at risk for their democratic and basic rights. This breaking point can initially mark the beginning of a new era for Iran: a secular, democratic, and federal democracy grounded in the rule of law.

For Iran to be at peace with itself, it is essential to establish a secular, democratic and federal system. In a federal democracy, political accountability would be ensured, state institutions would serve the public rather than ideological interests, and meaningful self-determination would be guaranteed to the country’s diverse national and ethnic minorities within their respective regions. Under these conditions, Iran could become a stabilizing force rather than a source of insecurity, contributing positively to regional cooperation and long-term stability. 

Furthermore, a democratic and federal Iran would be at peace with its neighboring countries and the international community. Rather than engaging in terrorism or sponsoring terrorist organizations abroad, such a political system would work to reduce sectarian conflict, de-escalate regional tensions, and contribute to security, cooperation, and long-term stability across the region and beyond.

The vision is to emulate a stable and prosperous Swiss-style federation rather than uphold the status quo in the name of stability. Achieving a federal democracy in Iran would certainly require years of strategic patience, internal democratic commitment, and external support from Western democracies. However, the alternative is not limited to either perpetuating the status quo—namely, preserving the oppressive, destabilizing, and terrorism-sponsoring Islamist regime in Tehran—nor descending into civil war.

Ultimately, as long as the Islamic Republic of Iran remains in power, lasting peace and meaningful stability will not be possible to achieve in Iran and across the wider region. The current countrywide protests show that the peoples of Iran want peace, stability, and accountable governance, which is neither possible nor compatible with the current regime’s entrenched system of oppression and resistance to any meaningful political reform.

In order for the peoples of Iran to achieve their freedom and democracy, they not only need to unite against the regime, but they also need international support. The international community, especially the democratic countries around the globe, have a historical obligation to, in every way possible, support the democratic forces in the country to transform Iran into a democratic country.