Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Thursday it killed five members of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, while the Kurdish opposition group told Fox News Digital that six of its Peshmerga — a term commonly used for Kurdish fighters — were killed in what it described as an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ambush in northwest Iran.The clash marks another escalation in Iran’s Kurdish-majority west after days of reported attacks and clashes involving Iranian security forces, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Kurdish armed factions. It also underscores the current position of Iranian Kurdish opposition groups that recently were viewed by U.S.and Israeli officials as a possible pressure point against Tehran during the U.S.–Israeli war with Iran, but ultimately stayed out of the conflict amid mixed signals from Washington and pressure from both Iran and Turkey.WAVE OF ATTACKS ON IRAN'S IRGC RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT RENEWED KURDISH INSURGENCYThe Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan said six of its Peshmerga — Karo Hormuziari, Fardin Changizi, Mohammad Khaki, Abdullah Mohammadpour, Twana Osmani and Mohammad Amin Bayezidi — were killed in a clash with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps near Piranshahr in Iranian Kurdistan July 1, 2026.
(The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan)Majeed Gly, president of the American Kurdish Committee, told Fox News Digital that the latest clashes should not be read as a full-scale uprising, but also should not be dismissed as routine border violence."What I’m hearing is, this is not business as usual," Gly said."This is not like periodic clashes on the border.
This is operations, and it seems to be deep inside."Gly said Kurdish frustration has grown sharply after months of Iranian attacks on Kurdish areas and opposition-linked sites, including in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.He said the region has been hit by more than 850 attacks since February, leaving at least six civilians dead and doz...