The leader of the exiled Iranian Kurdish opposition party said that he did not believe that “any figure in the existing Islamic Republic of Iran” was “trustworthy” in an exclusive interview with Euronews.
The remarks made by Abdulla Mohtadi — the exiled leader of the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, who is based in Iraq — followed comments made by US President Donald Trump on Monday, who said that he exchanged with “reasonable” unnamed Iranian officials during negotiations.
In contrast, Mohtadi described the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran as “butchers of the people” and “criminals.”
“They are butchers of the Iranian people, criminals, a bunch of criminals,” he said, while stressing his party’s support for a “democratic and secular system” that respects the rights of Kurds and other minority groups.
Kurds make up approximately 10 per cent of Iran’s population and hold a long history of grievances against the Islamic Republic, as well as against the country’s former monarchy, owing to decades of repression and marginalisation.
Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini had declared a “holy war” against Kurdish groups, which he qualified as ‘infidels” and “enemies of the state.”
A significant proportion of Iranian Kurds live in the west and northwest of Iran, while thousands of exiles are based in the autonomous Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq – home to Iraqi Kurds.
Kurdish support for efforts to weaken the regime
Addressing the US and Israel’s ongoing joint military campaign against Tehran which was launched on 28 February, Mohtadi said that he backed efforts to weaken the Iranian regime, but cautioned that “regime change is up to the Iranian people.”
“If the American administration weakens the regime enough, if they crush the security forces, the military industrial base – but not the civilian infrastructure, of course we’re not for that […] – then maybe it can help the Iranian people to rise at some point.”
Mohtadi said that he was “not surprised” when the US and Israel launched their military campaign.
“I expected it to happen even decades ago”, he stated, “they have been chanting death to America for 47 years, threatened to annihilate Israel, destabilised the whole region with their terrorist activists.”
Mohtadi described Iranian Kurds as one of the main of the “credible” opposition forces who have been working against the regime since it came to power in 1979.
“We did not accept the Islamic regime of Iran from the outset. And we are still fighting for our rights and for democracy in Iran. There are also Baluchis, there are also Azerbaijanis, Arabs, and Persian people.”
Mohtadi criticised what he branded as Europe’s “policy of appeasement”, criticising the bloc’s “de-escalation approach.”
“It’s time for the Europeans to put an end to this policy of appeasement and take a more active pro-Iranian anti-regime policy.”
Speculation regarding a Western backed ground invasion in Iran
Reports emerged at the beginning of the US-Israeli war in end-February that the CIA was working to arm and train Iranian Kurdish forces in Iraq. US President Donald Trump appeared to support an Iranian Kurdish ground offensive in early March, before telling reporters days later “I don’t want the Kurds to go into Iran… The war is complicated enough as it is.”
Mohtadi confirmed to Euronews that a possible Kurdish-backed ground offensive was more of an “idea, rather than a plan”, stating that Trump ultimately “decided not to invite Kurds to take part in the campaign.”
“We are still in defensive positions in Iraqi Kurdistan. And we have not crossed the border. We are under constant shelling by Iranian missiles and drones day and night for about a month now. But we are still in defensive positions.”