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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran: Armed clashes continue across Rojhelat as fighting spreads to three provinces

2026-07-01

Armed Clashes Continue Across Rojhelat as Fighting Spreads to Three Provinces

Over the past week, several armed clashes have been reported between Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Eastern Kurdistan Defense Units (YRK) across different parts of Rojhelat… pic.twitter.com/JYbcvC5sxk
— Rojhelat Info (@RojhelatInfo_En) June 30, 2026

Text:

Armed Clashes Continue Across Rojhelat as Fighting Spreads to Three Provinces

Over the past week, several armed clashes have been reported between Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Eastern Kurdistan Defense Units (YRK) across different parts of Rojhelat (Iranian Kurdistan). The fighting has taken place in the areas around Marivan (Merîwan), Mahabad (Mehabad), and Paveh (Pawe), pointing to a growing escalation of military confrontations in the region.

According to statements and reports released by the parties involved, the IRGC claimed that four YRK fighters were killed during the recent clashes in the Şarstên area between Mahabad and Piranshahr (Pîranşar). As of the time of publication, the YRK command has neither confirmed nor denied the claim.

Meanwhile, local sources and media outlets close to Kurdish forces have reported that more than 10 Iranian military personnel were killed during the fighting over the past week.

More:
Eastern Kurdistan Defense Units (YRK) have confirmed that four of their fighters were killed

YRK Confirms Death of Four Fighters in Mahabad Clashes, Accuses IRGC of Escalating Attacks

The Eastern Kurdistan Defense Units (YRK) have confirmed that four of their fighters were killed during the recent clashes near Mahabad, while accusing Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard… pic.twitter.com/PyJHWc4O4f
— Rojhelat Info (@RojhelatInfo_En) June 30, 2026

Text:

YRK Confirms Death of Four Fighters in Mahabad Clashes, Accuses IRGC of Escalating Attacks

The Eastern Kurdistan Defense Units (YRK) have confirmed that four of their fighters were killed during the recent clashes near Mahabad, while accusing Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of escalating military operations against its forces and the Kurdish population.

In a statement released, YRK said it had consistently followed its "Third Line" policy during the recent regional conflict involving Iran. The group stated that it did not support any side and had not launched attacks against the Iranian government, even during what it described as one of Iran's most vulnerable periods.

According to the statement, after recent developments, the IRGC and Iranian security agencies significantly increased their military operations against YRK positions and used the situation to target the group's forces.

YRK said the military operation in the Gagesh area near Mahabad began on June 27 and involved a large number of IRGC forces using heavy weapons. The group claimed that the IRGC suffered casualties during the fighting.

More at the link

Kurdish group says four members killed in clashes with IRGC
[Rudaw] An Iranian Kurdish opposition group said on Tuesday that four of its fighters were killed in festivities with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Iran’s West Azerbaijan province, threatening to retaliate.

The East Kurdistan Defense Units (YRK), the armed wing of the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), said in a statement that four of its fighters "resisted until the very last drop of their blood and were heroically martyred" during a clash with the IRGC in the suburbs of Mahabad in the Kurdish region of western Iran
Iran

...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate ~~Jews~~ ~~Zionists~~ Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
(Rojhelat).

The YRK also said "the IRGC forces suffered casualties... and sustained damages."

The IRGC and the YRK have engaged in sporadic festivities across Baneh, Paveh, and Mahabad - where the Kurdish group maintains mobile forces - since Saturday. Both sides have sustained casualties, with the IRGC confirming the killing of two senior Basij militia members on Monday.

Earlier on Tuesday, the IRGC claimed it killed six members in the "ambush" in Mahabad while seizing the bodies of four, alongside weapons.

The PJAK joined a coalition of Kurdish opposition groups in late February, a week before the United States and Israel launched a military campaign against Iran, sparking a regional conflict that lasted nearly six weeks. The Kurdish umbrella group has called for greater Kurdish rights.

Iran has long labeled the groups "terrorists" and "Kurdish separatists." Its fears were exacerbated during the war, as it believed the groups would incite and stage an armed rebellion in the Kurdish regions.

"We have not taken the side of any power, nor have we launched any attacks against the Iranian regime," the YRK said in Tuesday’s statement, adding that it refrained from any attack "even during Iran’s weakest conditions."

The group also said that Iranian forces have nonetheless "significantly increased their attacks," adding they are "taking advantage of this current situation" to target Kurdish fighters with "cowardly attacks."

The US and Israel launched a major aerial campaign against Iran in late February. Tehran carried out attacks on Iranian Kurdish gangs based in the Kurdistan Region during its response to the war.

Iran and the US signed a memorandum of understanding in mid-June to extend the ceasefire they had agreed to earlier in April. Despite fluctuating tensions, Tehran and Washington have not engaged in widescale confrontations since the truce.

Iran’s attacks on Kurdish groups in the Kurdistan Region continue despite the deal with the US.

IRGC says six Kurdish opposition members killed in western Iran

[Rudaw] The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Tuesday that six members of a Kurdish opposition group were killed in festivities with security forces near Mahabad in Iran’s West Azerbaijan province.

The Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), one of the main Kurdish opposition groups, said on Saturday that its forces clashed with the IRGC in the Mahabad area on Friday, but did not provide further details.

"Following the entry of a team from hostile and separatist groups into the country’s northwestern borders to carry out sabotage and terrorist acts, fighters from the IRGC Ground Force’s Hamzeh Seyyed al-Shohada Headquarters tracked them through intelligence operations," said semi-official Mehr News Agency
...And if you can't believe Mehr News Agency who can you believe?...
The festivities come amid a spike in attacks targeting Iranian security forces in Kurdish areas. Two high-profile members of the IRGC-linked Basij were bumped off on Monday night in Paveh, Kermanshah province.

"The assailants were caught in an ambush by Hamzeh Headquarters forces and were completely dismantled," the Guards said in a statement published by state media.

The IRGC said the clash took place in the mountains between Mahabad and Piranshahr, with artillery support, adding that the six-member team was "completely destroyed." It said the bodies of four members of the group, along with weapons and equipment, were seized by IRGC forces.

State media published photos showing the bodies of three alleged Kurdish fighters dressed in traditional Kurdish baggy clothing, one of whom appeared to be a woman. The images also showed four firearms recovered from the scene, including three AK-47 rifles and one American-made M4 carbine.

PJAK has not confirmed whether any of its fighters were killed in the Mahabad festivities.

The group maintains dozens of mobile units in the rugged mountains of western Iran’s Kurdish areas, where fighters often move between remote positions to avoid direct festivities with the IRGC.

Other Kurdish opposition groups also maintain mobile units in the area.

The Paveh killings marked the third attack on Iranian security forces in the Kurdish region within a week, following separate incidents in Baneh, Kurdistan province, and Mahabad, West Azerbaijan province, that left several security personnel dead or maimed.

Two Kurdish Basij members killed by button men in western Iran
Two Kurdish members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) Basij militia, including a local figure widely known for his role in suppressing the 2022 anti-government protests, were rubbed out at their homes by unidentified button men in Paveh, western Iran, late Monday.

The killing marked the third attack targeting Iranian security forces in the Kurdish region within a week, following separate assaults in Baneh, Kurdistan province, and Mahabad, West Azerbaijan province, that left several security personnel dead or maimed.

The two men were identified by the semi-official Mehr News Agency as Khaled Khaledinia and Burhan Karisani.

"Following what the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps described as a terrorist attack in Paveh, armed individuals shot up the front door of the homes of two members of the IRGC, resulting in the deaths of two local IRGC personnel," Mehr reported.

Khaledi was a well-known Basij member in the Kurdish cities of Paveh and Javanrud in Kermanshah province. Kurdish activists and those detained during the protest have accused him of playing a direct role in the crackdown on protests that erupted following the death of young Kurdish woman Zhina (Mahsa) Amini at the hands of Iran's morality police in Tehran in September 2022. The Woman Life Freedom demonstrations began in Kurdish areas before spreading across Iran.

The IRGC and Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence have long recruited local Kurds as informants and auxiliary security personnel, offering financial incentives in economically deprived areas, according to Kurdish activists and rights groups.

Local Kurdish media reported that a newly emerged Kurdish group calling itself "Sun of Hope" grabbed credit for the attack. Little is known about the group, which has not publicly disclosed its identity, leadership, or objectives.

The killings come at a sensitive time for authorities in Tehran, who have deployed thousands of additional security personnel across the country, including in Kurdish areas, amid fears of renewed unrest.

The crackdown in the city of Javanrud attracted international attention in late 2022 when the IRGC and its militia basij deployed heavy guns to the city to kill and maim protesters. The city was turned into a war zone during the crackdown with thousands of people detained many of whom were severely tortured.

Paveh and other Kurdish towns were heavily bombed during the six-week US-Israeli air campaign against Iran

Posted by:badanov

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