KDPI (The Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran) has taken up arms again, amidst reports of clashes with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran. The fighting comes after a 20-year period of inactivity. It is thought that Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Israel and other nations are looking to the establishment of an independent Kurdish state. Political analyst Siddik Hassan Sukru argues independence may not be feasible, given that Iran has a major influence on the KDP in Iraq and the Iranian Kurds are not able to carry out warfare for a sustained period of time. On the other hand, if Iraqi Kurdistan does become independent, which some believe is increasingly likely, it would signal the end of a unified Iraq which would overwhelmingly shift the population balance inside Iraq in favour of the Shia, making reconciliation with the Sunnis near to impossible. Independence here may trigger and urge on other Kurdish groups seeking independence, such as in Iran and Turkey, and may encourage Syrian Kurds to fight on for formal independence thereby lengthening the Syrian Civil War.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) has taken up arms again, amidst reports of clashes with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran. The fighting comes after a 20-year period of inactivity. It is thought that Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Israel and other nations are looking to the establishment of an independent Kurdish state. Political analyst Siddik Hassan Sukru argues independence may not be feasible, given that Iran has a major influence on the KDP in Iraq and the Iranian Kurds are not able to carry out warfare for a sustained period of time. On the other hand, if Iraqi Kurdistan does become independent, which some believe is increasingly likely, it would signal the end of a unified Iraq which would overwhelmingly shift the population balance inside Iraq in favour of the Shia, making reconciliation with the Sunnis near to impossible. Independence here may trigger and urge on other Kurdish groups seeking independence, such as in Iran and Turkey, and may encourage Syrian Kurds to fight on for formal independence thereby lengthening the Syrian Civil War.