Kurdish-linked clashes erupt in Iran’s west amid US-Iran talks

Armed confrontations in Iran’s Kurdish-majority western provinces have resulted in the deaths of at least four security personnel and injuries to several others, according to local reports. Two IRGC members were killed in an attack on a checkpoint in Paveh, Kermanshah Province, while gunmen assaulted a police post in Baneh, killing two officers and wounding three civilians, including a child. The incidents were reported by Iranian and regional news outlets and attributed by a little-known group called Xore Heva, which said the attacks were retaliation for the government’s crackdown on protests sparked by the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini.

Kurdish human-rights advocate Jino Victoria Doabi said the spread of clashes across Paveh, Marivan and Mahabad suggests a possible escalation, adding that Kurdish communities feel the IRGC can act against them without consequence. "The Kurdish people in Iran are very dissatisfied that the IRGC can attack Kurdish parties and Kurdish fighters and no one reacts," she said.

The violence coincides with ongoing diplomatic efforts between Iran and the United States, including a memorandum of understanding that Iranian officials say has been approved by the Supreme Leader. Kurdish groups, including PJAK and its armed wing YRK, have expressed skepticism that any agreement will benefit the Kurdish population, warning that it could strengthen the regime’s control.

Earlier reports indicated that Kurdish militias had been considered as a potential pressure point in the broader U.S.–Israeli conflict with Iran, but no coordinated insurgency has been confirmed. The recent attacks highlight the possibility that Iran’s western borderlands could become a new focal point for internal unrest as Tehran seeks to balance domestic security with fragile diplomatic progress.