Reports from Iranian Kurdistan indicate an escalating crackdown on Kurdish civilians and activists, accompanied by a heavy security force presence, as the Israel–Iran war intensifies.
According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN), the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Basij militia have established checkpoints at the entrances and exits of Kurdish-majority cities in north-western Iran, where they are searching vehicles and detaining individuals. Those arrested have reportedly been taken to unknown locations.
In reaction to ongoing Israeli airstrikes on military targets, the IRGC and police forces have vacated their usual bases in several Kurdish towns and villages, opting instead to occupy government buildings. Meanwhile, large numbers of plainclothes security forces from other provinces have been deployed to Kurdish cities.
The IRGC’s Intelligence Organisation and the Ministry of Intelligence have also begun summoning and interrogating the families of Kurdish activists based abroad, using threats and pressure in an effort to silence dissent from media associated with the activists.
At least 11 Kurdish activists and civilians have reportedly been detained in recent days and taken to undisclosed locations, in what appears to be a growing campaign of arrests across Bukan, Mahabad, and Piranshahr.
Among the detainees are Ali Mohammadi—whose son was killed during the 2022 ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadî’ (Women, Life, Freedom) anti-government demonstrations—as well as Aryan Mashayekhi and Sadegh Mahmoudnezhad, both of whom were seriously injured during the same protests.
