Kurdish–Iranian conflict

Lots of fighting going on in Kurdish-populated cities in Iran

Ignore the CIA-sponsored twitter commentary

Last week:










Over the last couple of days: (some videos are graphic)












Protests in the rest of the Iran though seem to have fallen off. I guess realizing outside powers are attempting to incite a sectarian war in your country might dampen enthusiasm.
Although we can't exclude action in Baluchi-populated cities as Bolton earlier hinted; the clique in Pakistan the US sponsored in overthrowing Khan might go for that. Or might not.

Or

The US is simply now using the nuclear option against Iran; the Kurdish card, which the US had earlier withheld from on account of Turkey's security interests, but now with Turkey moving away from the West anyway - no longer has any reservations against employing.

And so the various Kurdish militias and separatist organizations in Iran have been given the signal to rise up much like the Kurds in Iraq were told to by Washington in 1991, with the according promises of arms deliveries and other supplies as soon as they've got the ball rolling and taken over some border crossings at least.

And on the backdrop of this Iraqi Kurdistan itself is emboldened, while the Turks probably want to preempt the Syrian, Iraqi and rebel Iranian Kurdish territories from joining together under a US-sponsored aegis, and have decided to invade north Iraq to prevent that.

Who is attacking who ? Who is sending troops into whose territory ? Are the Kurds sending pishmarge into Tehran ? Are they sending helicopters or APC ? Are their fighters advancing into Azeri or Farsi villages ? Are they surrounding them with troops ? Are they cutting electricity to them ? Are they using machine gun in their city ? No they are not ? They are defending own towns from attack . These are the facts . Not suppositions . Argue from facts . Iranians should not allow the Mullah right wing regime to start ethnic conflict or the yanks to do the same . Same objective , different clothes . Anti-socialist and anti-democratic elements both .

With such reductionist reasoning as yours it's possible to level the same accusations against Russia in the Ukraine, yet we know that reality is more complicated. Sometimes you have to act preemptively, or your neighbours are in bed with your enemies and are plotting against you, or there has been some previous conflict that has never gone away and its resumption is inevitable.

Iran is not some land mass with a collection of different ethnic communities. It is before anything else a state, and a government, with its own set of laws. The Kurdish protestors are doing a lot more than what it took for the Yellow Vests in France to get a baton over the head for. Namely they are challenging the Iranian government, breaking the law, hinting at separatism and fighting with the police. That sort of thing is grounds for the usage of force to restore law & order in any country.

And I'm not making a judgement about the protesters' grievances here, I'm simply saying that every state will try and preserve itself and will try to put down insurrections that challenge their authority - this is inevitable. I'd also point out that the Iranian government itself is legitimate, fundamentally. Not necessarily in the Kurdish-populated regions, where it asserted itself with violence in the first place not long after the Islamic revolution; but generally, in wider Iran it was and is legitimate, it had enough of the population's support to overthrow the Shah, and enough support to have withstood Western attempts at pressure and isolation since then. It also has elections, a parliament and other organs, through which laws can be challenged and modified to some extent; more than in many of its neighbors at any rate.

This will not end with a new 'revolution', this will end, if it starts, as a new Yugoslavia or Syria. There is no groundwork for a new revolution. No new political theories, no popular political parties or charismatic leaders. What there is is a Western/Israeli objective to destabilize Iran and to this end they will support minority nationalists, corrupt politicians and armed groups.

Ideally the Kurdish groups and the Iranian authorities will sit down at the table and agree to address some popular grievances, while dismissing further outside attempts to inflame the situation towards armed conflict.