Iranian Kurdistan Democratic Party: Conditions Ripe for Fall of Tehran Regime

Mustafa Moloudi, Deputy Chairman of the Iranian Kurdistan Democratic Party (PDKI), stated that the objective conditions for overthrowing the Iranian regime have become more ripe and complete than ever before, due to the deep crises the system is undergoing and its total loss of popular and international legitimacy.

Moloudi affirmed in a special interview with "Erem News" that "the party's stance has remained constant and unchanged before or after the recent confrontations," stressing that the strategic goal of Kurdish struggle is to establish a democratic federal system in Iran that guarantees the right to self-determination for all components.

He clarified that the struggle of the Kurdish people in the Kurdistan regions of Iran possesses its own specificity and intrinsic objectives and does not merge with conflicts of external powers against Tehran, considering the model of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq as the most suitable for the reality of Kurdistan in Iran.

Regarding circulating news about Iraqi pledges to evacuate or relocate the headquarters of Iranian Kurdish opposition parties, Moloudi firmly rejected these measures, confirming they had not received any official notification. He described Iranian demands in this regard as illegal, impractical, and absolutely unacceptable.

The following is the text of the interview:

After months of confrontation, siege, and pressures imposed by the Iranian regime, what is your current position?
Our cumulative and theoretical position is fixed and has undergone no change; it stems from the total rejection of the behaviors and practices of the Iranian regime based on human rights violations and depriving the Iranian people generally, and the Kurdish people specifically, of freedom, democracy, and political and social rights.

Our work and struggle focus primarily on establishing and recognizing the right to self-determination for the people in Iran within the framework of a federal system.

Based on our long-term experience with Tehran's policies, we are fully certain that these rights cannot be achieved under the existence of this regime. Therefore, our primary goal is to topple the current regime and establish a democratic federal political system.

This political approach has been constant for us before the outbreak of the 12-day war, during it, and even now amidst the current state of "neither war nor peace"; where we continue to affirm the same principles. War, pressure, and siege have changed nothing in our strategy.

We firmly believe that for all peoples and components within the Iranian geography to attain their political and social rights safely and democratically, and for the Middle East region to witness true stability and security, everyone must work towards toppling this regime to secure the opportunity to build a democratic federal system.

We also see that external pressures imposed on the Iranian regime weaken its structure; which opens the way for political forces and civil mass movements, especially in the Kurdistan regions of Iran, to enhance their activity and struggle.

To what extent do you see the possibility of the fall of the current regime in Tehran becoming imminent and feasible?
We see that the ground and objective conditions for toppling the current regime have become fully prepared and ready, due to several essential factors:

First: The regime's loss of legitimacy and popular legality among citizens.

Second: The regime's drowning in acute and deep crises on all political, economic, and social levels. Exiting these crises has become extremely difficult, if not impossible.

Third: A wide and deep gap exists between the regime and its institutions on one side and the general public on the other, where the street has lost any hope or trust in the regime, and the people will revolt immediately upon any suitable opportunity arising.

Fourth: Regional countries have realized that the Iranian regime constitutes the main and fundamental source of instability in the Middle East, endangering the political, economic, and security interests of these countries. It is natural for these countries to seek to end its existence.

Fifth: Major international powers with interests in the region have reached the conviction that the continuation of this regime harms their strategic interests.

Based on all these data points, I confirm that the chance for the regime's survival has diminished significantly, while the prospects and possibilities for crushing and toppling it today are much greater than at any time in the past.

Following the fall of the Shah's regime and the arrival of Khomeini's authority, Kurds in Iran felt great betrayal and injustice. Do you harbor the same fear regarding Iran's future after the fall of the current regime?
The fears you mention may exist to varying degrees; Kurds in Iran demand their legitimate political and social rights and strive with all their might to achieve and preserve them. To guarantee those rights, Iran must transform into a democratic state with a responsible government subject to accountability.

Unfortunately, the features of an entrenched and stable democracy in Iran are still not entirely clear, but everyone in Iran must realize the fact that the Kurdish people and other ethnicities will not relinquish their political and social rights. As long as these ethnicities do not receive their full rights, Iran will not witness stability, democracy, development, or prosperity.

Therefore, all parties bear the responsibility of working to establish a democratic government that safeguards the rights of all peoples and components. It must be understood that in the event of the regime's fall, we will face two paths with no third option:

The first path: That upcoming political forces in Iran realize the necessity of establishing a genuine democratic system that recognizes and accepts the rights of the people of Kurdistan, which we hope to achieve.

The second path: In the event that the first option is not realized, the people of Kurdistan will not stand idly by, but will continue their struggle through means dictated by the era until victory is achieved, and are prepared to bear sacrifices as proven throughout history.

All Iranian components and forces must resolve their internal disputes in a democratic manner based on accepting the rights of others; otherwise, the Iranian people across all spectrums will face the same suffering caused by the regime for nearly fifty years, from which no party gained any benefit.

Do you have readiness to participate in any field land military confrontation against the Iranian army?
The Kurdish people have waged a long struggle and confrontations in various forms to achieve their political and social rights. The battle fought by the people of Kurdistan against the Iranian regime is not related to wars or conflicts waged by other countries against this regime. The conflict imposed by the Iranian regime on Kurdistan differs completely from any other conflict for two main reasons:

First: Difference in goals and purposes; the aim of the struggle of the people of Kurdistan and the Democratic Party is to obtain legitimate political, social, and economic rights for our people, whereas the goals of any conflict waged by an external party like America are defined by securing protection of their own interests.

Second: Difference in tools and tactics; the struggle of the people of Kurdistan encompasses vast political, social, cultural, organizational, and civil aspects, and even the military struggle of the "Peshmerga" forces has its own nature completely different from the tactics of regular armies or external powers. Consequently, there is no merger or connection between the Kurdish struggle and conflicts of other countries with Tehran.

However, it is very natural that the current stage is highly sensitive, characterized by high expectations for changes or widespread confrontations. It is natural for any party or political actor to prepare for all probabilities and scenarios to capitalize on available opportunities.

Luckily, our people in Kurdistan, and we in the Kurdish parties, possess full readiness and monitor developments closely and with extreme care.

How do you view the future of Kurds in Iran?
Kurds in Iran represent a fundamental pillar and a major component of the political and geographical makeup, inhabiting vast areas and numbering over ten million people; giving them significant weight and influence on events.

Therefore, Kurds struggle to entrench democracy in Iran and ensure that the Kurdistan regions in Iran enjoy their own political and administrative authority. This demand was and remains the general slogan and primary goal of our people and the political programs of the parties, with the Democratic Party specifically seeking to build a democratic federal system in Iran that guarantees the national rights of the people of Kurdistan.

In addition, the Kurdistan regions in Iran have unique specificity and intrinsic features. Thus, models applied in other parts, such as the experience of Kurds in Turkey or Syria, cannot be applied in Iran and are not practical for our situation. If we want to compare with existing models, it can be said that the experience of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is the closest and most suitable model for the specificity of the reality in the Kurdistan regions of Iran and aligns with the aspirations of its people.

The Iranian Embassy in Iraq announced that the Iraqi side pledged to terminate the presence of Iranian Kurdistan party headquarters in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Have you received any official notification regarding this matter?
At the same time that the Iranian Ambassador in Baghdad announced an Iraqi commitment regarding how to deal with the Iranian Kurdish opposition, the spokesperson for the Iraqi Ministry of Defense denied these claims, confirming that discussions were limited only to the file of protecting shared borders and did not touch upon such issues at all.

Furthermore, no party, whether from the Federal Government in Baghdad or the Kurdistan Regional Government, has spoken to us about this topic so far.

As you know, a security agreement was signed between Iraq and Iran in 2023. We see that regarding the Iraqi government, the Kurdistan Regional Government, and Kurdish political forces, the agreement has been fully adhered to.

Since then, no breach of the security agreement has been recorded across the borders of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. The international community and regional countries, as well as Baghdad and Erbil, fully understand that the party that did not adhere to the agreement is the Iranian regime itself, while no breaches occurred from our side.

Accordingly, the demands the Iranian regime seeks to impose are contrary to international laws, impractical, and unenforceable, and we in turn will not accept them whatsoever.