Exiled Iranian Kurds In Iraq Say They Will Return Only If Iran’s Theocracy Falls

They fled Iran arsenic children and now, surviving successful Iraq arsenic adults, they definitive guarded dream that nan U.S.–Israeli warfare pinch Iran will weaken nan theocracy that forced them into exile decades ago.

Behind that dream is nan longing of Iranian Kurds successful Iraq that they tin someday return to homes they only retrieve done paintings connected their walls and faded photographs.

But nan thousands of Kurds cognize their aspirations for governmental autonomy and their humanities guidance to Iran's clerical norm person made that unlikely. They opportunity they will only spell backmost if a caller Iranian authorities is installed, guarantees their information and supports their goals.

Among them are much than 300 families of Kawa Camp successful Irbil's Qushtapa territory successful bluish Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region. They were displaced aft Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, which sparked a decades-long conflict pinch Kurdish separatists.

Many are descendants of those fighters. They fled arsenic children pinch their families from nan bluish Iranian state of Kermanshah. Some joined nan guidance successful exile, carrying retired attacks against information forces wrong Iran. Most eke retired a surviving connected nan margins of nan Iraqi Kurdish society, wherever they deficiency citizenship and don’t person afloat civilian rights, entree to services aliases nan expertise to ain property.

In Kawa Camp, their dream of returning is tempered by heavy mistrust of overseas powers that person agelong exploited their origin for geopolitical ends. Many viewed caller reports that nan Trump management considered calling connected them to support crushed operations successful Iran arsenic nan latest example.

“From 1979 until now, this has been our only dream — that nan authorities will fall. I’m watching nan clock; if it falls now, I’ll return location nan adjacent second,” said a 57-year-old personnel of nan Iranian Kurdish guidance statement surviving successful Kawa, who fled Iran astatine property 11.

The person, for illustration astir of those interviewed for this article, said connected information of anonymity, citing fearfulness of reprisal from Iran-backed Iraqi militias that person stepped up attacks connected Iranian Kurdish bases. They besides mention surveillance by Iranian intelligence, since galore still person relatives successful Iran.

A life of displacement for Iranian Kurds successful Iraq

Iraqi Kurds govern a semiautonomous area successful bluish Iraq. Many person waged insurgency campaigns seeking to found their ain state, which they telephone Kurdistan. Iranian Kurds person a agelong history of grievances against nan Islamic Republic and besides nan monarchy that preceded it.

In nan Kawa location of organization leader Jehangir Ahmadi hangs a coating of an alley successful his autochthonal colony successful Iran’s Kurdish-majority Kermanshah province, which borders Iraq. He hasn't seen nan alley successful astir 50 years, and his puerility reels for illustration an aged film: He played among those sandy walls while colony elders would chat beneath nan poplars.

Ahmadi remembers nan huffy dash to time off location and nan days spent waiting to transverse nan border. The family first lived successful a campy adjacent to nan separator earlier being moved to another, successful nan deserts of occidental Anbar province. Security quickly deteriorated aft nan autumn of Saddam Hussein pursuing nan 2003 U.S.-led invasion, prompting nan United Nations to rehouse them.

Over nan years, tents gave measurement to imperishable homes, markets sprang up, and nan Iranian Kurds obtained nan correct to work, galore arsenic merchants, taxi drivers and mill workers. But buying a location aliases a car requires uncovering an Iraqi sponsor who must presume ineligible work for them, efficaciously tying their destiny to that sponsor, Ahmadi said.

“For each our lives successful Iraq we were paying nan value of leaving. Until now group look astatine america for illustration we are slaves,” Ahmadi said. “Until now we don’t person bully work, nary bully spot to live.”

In his view, Kurds, and particularly Iran’s Kurds, person historically been victims. There was nan short-lived self-governing Republic of Mahabad successful northwestern Iran, backed concisely by nan Soviet Union earlier its autumn successful 1976; Iran withdrawing support successful 1975 for a grounded Kurdish uprising against Iraq; Iraq's usage of chemic weapons against nan Kurds successful 1988; territorial losses successful northeast Syria aft nan autumn of President Bashar Assad successful December 2024.

So Ahmadi says he was skeptical of nan reported U.S. petition to backmost an Iranian Kurdish unit successful nan existent war.

“We didn’t spot that they will support america because we are wounded nation, we person been betrayed galore times,” he said.

Kurdish groups person travel nether onslaught from Iran's proxies

Armed Iranian Kurdish guidance groups based successful Iraq person travel nether onslaught from Iran's proxies successful Iraq since nan Iran warfare started.

Commanders and Iraqi Kurdish governmental leaders opportunity they deficiency nan capacity to equine a genuine crushed violative without U.S. aerial cover, and that nan thought floated by nan United States was ne'er earnestly discussed pinch Washington.

A elder Iraqi Kurdish charismatic said that immoderate Iranian Kurdish groups initially hoped for a swift illness of Iran's theocracy and envisioned storming into Iranian Kurdish territory to state victory. Other Iraqi Kurdish leaders, seeing nan management successful Tehran arsenic much resilient, warned them bluntly: “You will beryllium massacred,” according to nan official.

Unit commandant Rebaz Sharifi hid successful a mountainside crevice erstwhile a drone launched by Iran-backed militias struck a guidelines of nan Kurdistan Freedom Party, waiting for further strikes to pass. The statement is an Iranian-Kurdish nationalist separatist group known by nan section abbreviation PAK.

Sharifi said location are astir 8,000 to 10,000 Iranian Kurdish fighters — a fig corroborated by 2 different Iraqi Kurdish officials. Beyond basal battle rifles, they deficiency blase modern weaponry and do not person drones, a important capacity successful modern warfare.

He said Iranian-Kurdish groups are asking for information guarantees, particularly aerial cover, to antagonistic Iranian missiles and drones.

“We don’t want to spell now because we cognize we will dice because of (Iranian) airstrikes and missiles,” he said. “It’s not nan correct clip for this because Iranian forces still person powerfulness to power nan skies.”

At nan specified anticipation that nan groups mightiness beryllium mobilizing for deployment, Iran-backed groups successful Iraq launched a near-daily volley of aerial attacks.

“So, ideate what they will do if we move location now,” Sharifi said.

Kawa Camp residents look threats from each sides

The threat of continued attacks drove Kurdish fighters to move their families retired of subject camps and into adjacent communities seeking safety.

In Kawa, a section resident affiliated pinch nan Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan is sheltering nan woman and children of a combatant from nan party’s equipped wing. They moved from nan party's campy successful Koya, adjacent nan border, because of changeless attacks successful nan first days of nan war.

The militia drone attacks haven't targeted civilian communities truthful far, but nan statement personnel fears that mightiness alteration arsenic nan warfare progresses.

“Every time we are acrophobic of nan militias,” he said. “We are tense astatine nighttime because we deliberation they mightiness deed present also.”

And he fears Iran’s intelligence moving successful nan area.

“My relatives successful Iran told maine that they cognize wherever I work, what I do, and wherever I live,” he said.