1979 Kurdish rebellion in Iran

1979 Kurdish rebellion in Iran
Part of Consolidation of the Iranian Revolution, Iran-Iraq War, and Kurdish separatism in Iran[6]

The epicenter of insurrection
DateMarch 1979–1983[7]/1984-1989[3] 1989-1996
Location
Iranian Kurdistan
Result

Iranian victory

  • Iranian forces mostly diverted to the Iran–Iraq War front since late 1980
  • Pockets of KDPI resistance remained until 1996[3]
Belligerents

Interim Government and Council of the Islamic Revolution (1979−80)

Iran Islamic Republic of Iran (1980−83)

KDP-I
Komala
IPFG[1]
OIPFG (Minority)[2][3]
Sipay Rizgari[4]

Supported by:

Iraq Iraq[5]
Commanders and leaders

Iran Ruhollah Khomeini
Iran Mehdi Bazargan
Iran Abulhassan Banisadr
Iran Mohammad-Ali Rajai
Iran Mohammad-Javad Bahonar
Iran Mostafa Chamran
Iran Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani
Iran Ali Khamenei
Iran Mir-Hossein Mousavi

Army
IRGC

Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou
Foad Mostafa Soltani †
Abdullah Mohtadi
Sedigh Kamangar
Jafar Shafiyi

Ashraf Dehghani[1]
Muhammad Uthman Siraj al-Din[4]
Units involved

IRI Army

Revolutionary Guards		 Peshmerga
Strength
5,000 Revolutionary Guards in Kurdistan province (August 23, 1979); 200,000 by 1982 100,000 armed Kurdish Peshmerga (August 1979), including 2,000 in Paveh, 2,000 in Saqqiz, 20,000 in Mahabad, 10,000 near Sardasht, and 5,000 Kurds of Turkey.[7]
Artillery included a few captured tanks, light artillery pieces, recoilless guns, and machine guns.[9]
Casualties and losses
3,960 Kurdish democrat rebels killed (shehid.com claim)[7] 1980-1984 25,000 civilians have died including 2,500 Kurdish rebels 5,000 killed (Iranian Government claim)[7]

45,000 total casualties [7]
12 Iranian officers executed for refusing to fight[7]

Total: 10,000[10][1]-45,000 killed[11]

The 1979 Kurdish rebellion in Iran was one of the largest nationwide uprisings in the country against the new state following the Iranian Revolution. The Kurdish rebellion began in mid-March, just two months after the Revolution ended, and was one of the most intense Kurdish rebellions in modern Iran.[7]

Kurdish groups initially tried to align with Iran's new government in an attempt to emphasize their own Muslim identity and to seek common ground with other Iranians. The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI), who strongly campaigned for political autonomy, briefly identified as a non-separatist organization, even criticizing those calling for independence from the state.[6][2] However, following a number of attacks on Iranian army barracks in the Kurdistan province by militant groups, relations quickly deteriorated. Though Shīʿa Kurds and some Sunni tribal leaders approved of the Shīʿa Islamic State, most Sunni Kurdish leftists and communists continued to push for the independence of Kurdistan.[6][3] A portion of the Naqshbandi order also opposed the new state, aligning with the Iraqi army and forming the Sipay Rizgari militant group, under the guidance of Sheikh Muhammad Uthman Siraj al-Din.[4]

Kurdish militants, primarily from the KDPI, initially made territorial gains in Mahabad and temporarily ousted Iranian troops from the region, but a large-scale offensive in spring 1980 by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reversed the course of the conflict. The start of the Iran–Iraq War in September 1980 saw the Iranian government increasing efforts to snuff the Kurdish rebellion, the only 1979 uprising that remained, in part due to the province's proximity to the Iraqi border. By 1981, the Iranian police and the Revolutionary Guard had ousted the Kurdish militants from their strongholds, but small groups continued to execute sporadic attacks against Iranian militia. Clashes in the area continued until 1983.

About 10,000 people were killed over the course of the rebellion, including 1,200 Kurdish political prisoners executed by the Iranian government.[7] There was a resurgence in conflict in 1989 following the assassination of KDPI leader Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou.

  1. ^ a b Zabir, Sepehr (2012). Iran Since the Revolution (RLE Iran D). Taylor & Francis. pp. 108–110. ISBN 978-1136833007.
  2. ^ Kamal, Muhammad (1986). "Iranian Left In Political Dilemma". Pakistan Horizon. 39 (3). Pakistan Institute of International Affairs: 39–51. JSTOR 41393782. Archived from the original on 2019-03-02. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
  3. ^ a b c "Kurdistan - Iran". GlobalSecurity.org. Archived from the original on 2017-12-10. Retrieved 2012-03-18.
  4. ^ a b c van Bruinessen, Martin (15 August 1986). The Naqshbandi Order as a Vehicle of Political Protest among the Kurds (With Some Comparative Notes on Indonesia). New Approaches in Islamic Studies. Jakarta: Indonesian Institute of Sciences. pp. 1–3. Archived from the original on 16 August 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023 – via Academia.edu.
  5. ^ Stokes, Jamie (2009). Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and the Middle East. Infobase. p. 390. ISBN 9781438126760. Archived from the original on 2016-04-30. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
  6. ^ a b c Denise, N. (2005). The Kurds And the State: Evolving National Identity in Iraq, Turkey, And Iran. Syracuse University Press. pp. 144–145. ISBN 9780815630845. Archived from the original on 2013-09-26. Retrieved 2023-03-17.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Ward, R.S. (2009). Immortal: A Military History of Iran and its Armed Forces. Georgetown University Press. pp. 231–233. ISBN 978-1589015876. Archived from the original on 2016-05-05.
  8. ^ Alfoneh, Ali (2012-09-21). "What Is Iran Doing in Syria?". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 2012-09-26. Retrieved 2012-09-23.
  9. ^ Razoux, Pierre (2015). The Iran–Iraq War. Harvard University Press. Appendix E: Armed Opposition. ISBN 9780674915718.
  10. ^ Smith, Benjamin (2009). "Land and Rebellion: Kurdish Separatism in Comparative Perspective" (PDF). Cornell University. p. 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-06-15.
  11. ^ "Iran". Database - Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP). Archived from the original on 2014-07-19. Retrieved 2012-10-21.