IRGC kills six Kurdish Peshmerga in Iran border ambush, PDKI says

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard said Thursday it had killed five members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran, while the Kurdish opposition group told Fox News Digital that six Peshmerga, a widely used term for Kurdish fighters, were killed in an ambush by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in northwestern Iran.

The conflict marks a new escalation in Iran’s Kurdish-majority west, following days of reported attacks and clashes involving Iranian security forces, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Kurdish armed groups.

It also underscores the current position of Iranian Kurdish opposition groups, which were recently seen by US and Israeli officials as a possible pressure point against Tehran during the US-Israeli war against Iran, but ultimately stayed out of the conflict due to mixed signals from Washington and pressure from both Iran and Türkiye.

WAVE OF ATTACKS AGAINST IRGC IN IRAN RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT THE RENEWED KURDISH REBELLION

American Kurdish Committee Chairman Majeed Gly told Fox News Digital that the recent clashes should not be read as a large-scale uprising, but also should not be dismissed as routine border violence.

“From what I hear, this is not business as usual,” Gly said. he said. “This is not like the periodic clashes at the border. This is an operation and there seems to be a deep situation inside.”

Gly said Kurdish anger rose sharply after months of Iranian attacks on Kurdish regions, including Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, and on opposition-linked sites. He said the region had been hit by more than 850 attacks since February, leaving at least six civilians dead and dozens more injured.

Hejar Berenji, US representative of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), confirmed to Fox News Digital that six PDKI Peshmerga were killed in a clash with Revolutionary Guard forces in the Piranshahr region of Iranian Kurdistan.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard killed five members of the banned PDKI in northwestern Iran, Reuters reported, citing state media. The Revolutionary Guard said the group was ambushed after entering Iranian territory in the mountainous border areas near Piranshahr in West Azerbaijan Province.

WAVE OF ATTACKS AGAINST IRGC IN IRAN RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT THE RENEWED KURDISH REBELLION

Kurdish separatists tried to cross Iran from Iraq amid protests. (Mustafa Özer/AFP via Getty Images)

Berenji stated that the six peshmerga were Karo Hormuziari, Fardin Changizi, Mohammad Khaki, Abdullah Mohammadpour, Twana Osmani and Mohammad Amin Bayezidi. He said the incident took place on Wednesday night in the village of Qizqapan near Piranshahr, and said the PDKI unit was “on a political and organizational mission” when it was “ambushed by a large and heavily equipped Revolutionary Guard force.”

“This must be understood in the broader context of the Islamic Republic’s continued repression of Iranian Kurdistan and its repeated attacks on Iranian Kurdish civilian camps in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, even during periods of ceasefires and negotiations,” Berenji said. he said. “The regime has increased pressure on Kurdish communities because it has realized that Iranian Kurds are among the most organized and determined democratic forces within Iran.”

PDKI is one of the oldest Kurdish opposition movements in Iran. The group has been involved in decades-long intermittent conflicts with the Islamic Republic, while Tehran has long viewed armed Kurdish groups as separatist threats; others describe it as a historical, centrist and nationalist Iranian Kurdish opposition group that Iran has targeted for years, including assassinations of its leaders decades ago.

Kurds are one of the largest stateless ethnic groups in the Middle East, with communities spread across Iran, Iraq, Syria and Türkiye. Large numbers of Kurds in Iran live in the country’s mountainous western and northwestern parts, where Kurdish opposition groups have long accused Tehran of repression, executions, forced assimilation and military repression. Iranian authorities view armed Kurdish groups as separatist or “terrorist threats”.

The latest clash followed several days of violence in western Iran. A similar incident near Piranshahr was reported by Iranian state media on Tuesday, with the Revolutionary Guard saying it killed six members of what it called an “opposition and separatist group.”

Two Revolutionary Guard members were killed and two others were injured in a shooting attack in Kermanshah Province on Monday evening by a newly formed Kurdish armed group seeking to retaliate for the Revolutionary Guard’s role in suppressing the 2022-2023 protest movement, according to Kurdish rights group Hengaw.

Iran also appears to be increasing pressure on Kurdish opposition groups other than PJAK (Party for Free Life of Kurdistan) following days of clashes between PJAK and the Revolutionary Guard, The Jerusalem Post reported on Thursday.

Berenji said the latest conflict was not a response to the ongoing memorandum of understanding for U.S.-Iran talks that remain unresolved as negotiations continue without a finalized agreement.

WAVE OF ATTACKS AGAINST IRGC IN IRAN RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT THE RENEWED KURDISH REBELLION

Vice President J.D. Vance (center) speaks with Chief of Staff and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir (left) and Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar after arriving in Islamabad for US-Iran peace talks on April 11, 2026. (Jacquelyn Martin/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

“The Kurds’ struggle for freedom, democracy and national rights predates the current negotiations and is not dependent on them,” Berenji said. he said. “At the same time, any agreement that ignores the Kurdish issue, the regime’s attacks on Kurdish civilians, and the repression inside Iran will not bring real stability.”

Gly said Kurdish anger was further fueled by language in the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding that critics interpreted as Washington agreeing not to interfere in Iran’s internal affairs.

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People attended a march in Erbil, Iraq, on April 21, 2026, expressing their support for the unity of Iranian Kurdish parties and condemning Iran’s missile attacks and military actions against Kurdish groups in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. (Rasul Gavhari/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

“This sentence led all Iranian opposition groups, especially the Kurds, astray,” Gly said.

Citing former President Ronald Reagan’s approach to the Soviet Union during the Cold War, he argued that the United States should not abandon its public support for liberation movements even during negotiations with hostile powers.

Gly said he has seen no clear evidence that Kurdish groups have gained significant new military capabilities, but the perception of Iran’s power has changed.

“What has changed is the perception of Iranian weakness,” Gly told Fox News Digital. “They are less afraid of the regime.”

The new violence has broader implications for Washington because Iranian Kurdish opposition groups have recently been discussed as a possible ground pressure point against Tehran.

While U.S. officials and Kurdish groups were discussing a potential military operation against Iranian security forces in western Iran, Reuters reported in March, a separate report said Israel supported Iranian Kurds’ plans to seize Iranian border areas, but such an operation would likely require U.S. and Israeli support.

But these expectations were quickly dashed. In April, Kurdish fighters ultimately stayed out of the war due to mixed signals from Washington and Israel, as well as Iranian threats and attacks on Kurdish positions in Iraq. According to Reuters, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on President Donald Trump during the conflict to prevent Kurdish forces from launching a ground operation against Iran; This reflects Ankara’s long-standing opposition to Kurdish armed movements gaining ground in the region.

During the conflict, Trump told Reuters he would be “all in” if the Kurds wanted to take action against Iran and said their goal should be to “win”; but Kurdish commanders were frustrated by the lack of a clear US or Israeli strategy.

Berenji said PDKI was not seeking chaos but insisted Kurdish forces had the right to defend themselves.

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Iranian and Russian naval forces simulate the recovery of a hijacked ship during a joint exercise at Bandar Abbas Port in Hormozgan, Iran, February 19, 2026. (Iranian Army/Declaration/Anatolia via Getty Images)

“We want a democratic, pluralistic, secular and federal Iran where all nations and communities can live with dignity and rights,” he said. “But the Kurdish people also have the right to defend themselves against the pressure, intimidation and attacks of the Revolutionary Guards.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to Iran’s delegation to the United Nations for comment.