1979 Kurdish rebellion in Iran

The 1979 Kurdish rebellion in Iran is an event which erupted in mid-March 1979, two months after the completion of the Iranian Revolution. It subsequently became the largest among the nationwide uprisings in Iran against the new state and one of the most intense Kurdish rebellions in modern Iran. Initially, Kurdish movements were trying to align with the new government of Iran, seeking to emphasize their Muslim identity and seek common ground with other Iranians. The KDPI even briefly branded itself as a '' non-separatist'' organization, allegedly criticizing those calling for independence, but nevertheless calling for political autonomy.Denise, N. ''The Kurds And the State: Evolving National Identity in Iraq, Turkey, And Iran'': p.144–45. 2005. Syracuse University Press. "Free to discuss its political views, the KDPI came out of thirty years of clandestine existence and made public claims for political autonomy"; "Despite its criticisms of the regime, in its early post-revolutionary public discourses the KDPI called itself an authentically national and Iranian party"

However, following a number of attacks on Iranian army barracks in Kurdistan province by militant groups, relations between some Kurdish organizations and the Iranian government quickly deteriorated, and although Shi'a Kurds and some Sunni tribal leaders turned towards the new Shi'a Islamic State, Sunni Kurdish leftists and communists continued the nationalist project in their enclave in Kurdistan province, Kurdistan Province.Denise, N. ''The Kurds And the State: Evolving National Identity in Iraq, Turkey, And Iran'':p.145 2005. Syracuse University Press. "Instead of creating a cohesive Kurdish nationalist movement, some Kurdish leaders such as Husayni's brother Shaykh Jalal accepted Iraqi military assistance and formed a Sunni militia opposed to the Iranian government and Kurdish nationalist parties. Qasimlu differentiated his real Kurdish nationalist party from traitors within the KDPI. Others, such as the prominent Ghani Bolourian, tried to negotiate with the central government. After the revolution, some Shi'a Kurds from Ilam, Kermanshah and West Azerbaijan turned away from Kurdish nationalists and towards non-Kurdish Shi'a communities. Sunni Kurdish leftists continued to direct the nationalist project in their enclave in Kurdistan Province, having marginal influence over Shi'a Kurds in other regions.

At first, Kurdish militants, primarily of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, made some territorial gains in the area of Mahabad and temporarily ousted Iranian troops from the region, a large scale offensive in spring 1980 by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reversed the course of the conflict.

Following the eruption of the Iran–Iraq War in September 1980, an even greater effort was made by the Iranian government to crush the Kurdish rebellion, which was the last of the 1979 uprisings to still go on. By 1981, the Iranian regular forces and the Revolutionary Guard ousted the Kurdish militants from their strongholds, but small groups of Kurdish militants continued to execute sporadic attacks against Iranian militias. Clashes in the area went on as late as 1983.

About 10,000 people were killed in the course of the Kurdish rebellion, with 1,200 of them being Kurdish political prisoners, executed in the last phases of the rebellion, mostly by the Iranian government. The conflict later resurged once again in 1989, following the assassination of KDPI leader Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou, allegedly by Iranian agents.

Background

After Pahlavi rule and two major failed rebellions in 1946 and 1967, Kurdish political organizations were enthusiastic supporters of the revolution against the Shah, which brought Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to power in February 1979. The Shah had shown himself to be no friend of Kurdish aspirations for greater autonomy nor a loosening of Tehran's control over their affairs. Once again, from the early days of the Islamic revolution, relations between the central government and Kurdish organizations were fraught with difficulties, and armed insurrection would ensue.

The Kurds, with their cross-border alliances, were seen as vulnerable to exploitation by foreign powers who wished to destabilize the young republic. Tensions between Iran and Iraq had previously seen both sides back Kurdish rebels in the country of the other. Additionally, a large number of Iraqi Kurds migrated to Iranian Kurdistan following Saddam's suppression of Kurdish revolts there, many of whom were armed and continued engaging in militancy. Many Iranian Sunni Kurds, unlike the overwhelming majority of their countrymen, abstained from voting to endorse the creation of an Islamic republic in March 1979. That referendum resulted in a 99.20% approval of the Islamic Republic in Kurdistan province, as compared to 99.31% nationwide.

The crisis deepened after the KDPI's Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou was denied a seat in the ''assembly of experts'' gathering in 1979, which was responsible for writing the new constitution. Ghassemlou had won his seat to the council with 34.9% of the vote, but was rejected after refusing the government's request for his group to disarm and return their weapons to government forces.

Rebellion

Eruption

As a wave of nationalism engulfed eastern Kurdistan after the fall of the Pahlavi Dynasty in line with a series of anti-revolutionary revolts across the country (in Khuzestan, Iranian Balochistan, and other parts of Iran), a full-scale rebellion was imminent.
Also, in March 1979, the KDP-I formulated and publicly announced an eight-point plan for Kurdish independence. This led to opposition from some other Kurdish leaders, such as Ahmad Moftizadeh, who announced their aversion to militarism and separatism.

The uprising began in mid-March 1979 when Kurdish factions took over control of police headquarters, army bases, and parts of army barracks in Sanandaj. The militants demanded the surrender of the army barracks in Sanandaj, resulting in the killing of 21 soldiers. According to the BBC, the revolt began when Kurdish tribesmen overpowered Iranian militias in the town of Paveh. Allegedly, unrest then spread to other Kurdish-dominated regions as the Kurds took over towns and army garrisons trying to keep out the Iranian army, namely to the towns of Divan Darreh, Saqqez and Mahabad. Many Kurdish leaders went into hiding after Khomeini ordered their arrest and execution. Iranian newspaper reports at this stage put the number killed at about 600. Two committees formed in Sanandaj at this time as well, one led by Moftizadeh and another by the head of the city's Hosseiniyah, named Safdari. The Iranian government tried to resolve the conflict peacefully at this point, sending a delegation to Sanandaj and negotiating with all militant groups present there. The negotiations resulted in an agreement to halt hostilities. Following this, Brayim Younisi was temporarily appointed as the governor of Kurdistan province by the interior ministry. Various Kurdish groups rejected his appointment, causing the agreement to fall apart.

In April 1979, armed conflict broke once again out between Kurdish factions and the Iranian revolutionary government's security forces. The Kurdish forces included primarily the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI) and the leftist Komala (Revolutionary Organization of Kurdish Toilers). By late April, fighting also broke out between Kurdish militants and government-aligned Azerbaijani factions in the area, resulting in the death of hundreds of Azeris and Kurds. One of the primary Azeri tribes involved in the fighting was the Qarapapaq tribe.

Fighting campaigns and politics

In mid-August, without sufficient preparations and regardless of the army's advice, the Revolutionary Guard marched on the town of Paveh, falling into a major ambush, and resulting in the encirclement of a portion of the Iranian forces there. The situation prompted Khomeini to approach the heads of the army and the government. As a result, Khomeini, in his statement on August 17, 1979, declared a jihad against Kurdish separatists, and key Kurdish nationalist figures were declared "enemies of the state", like Ghassemlou. The government then began a three-week campaign to clear out rebel strongholds, mainly Saqqez and Mahabad. A week after it partially fell, the city of Paveh was fully recaptured by IRGC forces following a Kurdish withdrawal, marking the beginning of the Iranian counteroffensive.

By August 20, 1979, the Iranian army had begun besieging Mahabad. By August 30 it was reported they had managed to completely surround the city and three days of negotiations started. After this failed, Iranian forces attacked the city on September 3 backed by F-4 fighter jets, artillery, and over 100 tanks. They managed to seize control of the town after just several hours of fighting. The defeat in Mahabad was a major blow to the Iranian Kurdish factions, and afterwards Iranian forces continued their offensive, marching on the smaller town of Baneh. Over 500 people were killed during the siege.

The defenders were overwhelmed by the power of the Iranian offensive, using heavy artillery, tanks, and air cover, but managed some effective resistance. Despite the heavy casualties, the bulk of Kurdish Peshmerga evaded capture and death, and retreated into the mountains. Iranian forces managed to retake the cities of Marivan, Bastam, Baneh, Sardasht, Mahabad, Bukan and Saqqez by the end of the operation. The Kurds resumed their offensive six weeks later, returning to Mahabad and combating the armored forces of Iran with Molotov cocktails and RPGs. At the end of November, Kurds also attacked Sanandaj, Saqqez, and other Kurdish cities and towns. The Kurdish offensive continued, as the Iranian government was distracted by other events in the country, such as the American Embassy hostage crisis in Tehran.

In a speech on 17 December 1979, Khomeini called the concept of ethnic minorities contrary to Islamic doctrines. He also accused ''those'' ''who do not wish Muslim countries to be united'' of creating the issue of nationalism among minorities. His views were shared by many in the clerical leadership.

In late January 1980, After the new Iranian administration of President Banisadr took office, Revolutionary Guard units and government-aligned Kurds unsuccessfully battled rebels in the region, resulting in a stalemate that lasted until spring. By May 1980, Kurds still controlled much of the regions' roads, rural areas and held once again the city of Mahabad as their capital. The KDPI claimed to have over 7,000 fighters at the time.

Spring 1980 Iranian offensive

In the spring of 1980, government forces under the command of President Abolhassan Banisadr once again retook most of the Kurdish cities through a huge military campaign, sending in mechanized military divisions to Kurdish cities including Sanandaj, Pawe, and Marivan. Neighbourhoods of some villages and towns were destroyed as a result of the fighting between Kurdish rebels and Government forces . Ayatollah Khalkhali sentenced thousands of men to execution after summary trials. The Kurds however continued to hold Mahabad as the summer fighting diminished, while Iranian-Iraqi tensions grew, amid Iraqi attacks on Qasr-e Shirin and Sarpol-e Zahab which led to Iran moving its army to the border.

Autumn 1980 Iranian operations

Kurdish force continued to hold Mahabad for five more months, as the Province of Kurdistan became a theater of the Iran–Iraq War. Although Iranian President Banisadr ordered a cease-fire with the Kurds following the Iraqi invasion, the Revolutionary Guard ignored him, continuing their campaigns.

The confrontation between Tehran and the Kurds intensified sharply when the Iran–Iraq War broke out, as Iran faced Iraqi support to the Kurdish insurgency in Iran while waging its own campaign to encourage the uprising of various groups within Iraq. It was initially assumed that Iraqi and Iranian Kurds would cooperate to exploit weaknesses on both sides. Unsurprisingly, neither Baghdad nor Tehran was willing to accept that outcome. Rather, both sides insisted on organizing special loyalist Kurdish military units to participate in the war and to demonstrate allegiance to their respective states.

Before June 1980, the fighting had driven Ghassemlou's KDPI to request an official alliance with Saddam Hussein's Iraq, which resulted in the signing of a seven-point agreement in Kirkuk. According to Ghassemlou, Iraq provided them with ammunition and anti-aircraft missiles, as they already had captured weapons from the Iranian army and did not need more of them. Despite his alliance with Iraq, however, Ghassemlou pursued a policy of neutrality towards Iraqi Kurdish factions, such as the KDP and PUK, and aided negotiations between them and Baghdad.

The policy of pursuing relations with Baghdad caused splits within the party, and in late May 1980, Ghani Bulurian and six others from the party's central committee renounced their party membership, alongside publishing Ghassemlou's private correspondences with the Iraqis, including information about a meeting between him and Iraqi vice president Taha Yasin Ramadan.

Final stage

In January 1981, the Iraqi army successfully established a supply line to KDPI strongholds through Nowdesheh and Qasr-e Shirin, and began sending military equipment their way. This allowed the KDPI to cut off the Baghdad-Tehran highway, denying Iranian forces its use for some time. However, by late 1981, Iranian forces went on a counteroffensive and pushed Iraqi forces back over the border, debilitating the KDPI and rendering them a marginal military factor for the remainder of the war. More than 10,000 Kurdish forces were allegedly killed during these battles.

While the KDPI had been militarily defeated by the end of 1981, armed remnants of the group continued to shelter in northern Iraq. Small groups of KDPI soldiers continued to engage in low-level campaigns against Iranian forces up until 1983, as more Iranian forces were diverted to the Iraqi front amid escalation of the Iran-Iraq war. Komala militants also moved their military bases to Iraqi Kurdistan following Iranian operations on the border.
February 24, 1979: Kurds in Mahabad seize army barracks and takeover the city. ^ Forouhar a government representative is sent to negotiate with kurds

Timeline from February 24, 1979 to May 31, 1980

February 1979

* February 25: Iranian 2 phantom jets bomb Kurdish villages near Iraqi border.

March 1979

* March 1: Mahanad people still hold army barracks. Demonstrations and clashes are happening everywhere in places like Saqqiz, and Mahabad
* March 2: Mahabad is the only Kurdish city not controlled by Khomeini. In Kermanshah the Kurds are running political shows and have taken over the local brigade-sized army camp.
* March 3: The Kurds went on the march to back their claims for autonomy. Two hundred thousands rallied in Mahabad, the first public display of the revival of the Kurdistan Democratic Party. THE K.D.P.'s message is clear—they demanded autonomy within Iran, not succession.
* March 4: Major Kurdish cities such as Mahabad, Saanadaj, and Kermanshah the Kurdish language is being set as an official language and armed rebels have control over law and order(not fully the cities mentioned expect for Mahabad).
* March 17: The Kurdish 1979 rebellion Starts. Kurds in Sanandaj begin to fight, because the army refuses to give kurds ammunition
* March 19: In Sanandaj protests start to erupt and capture many army barracks because Iran refused to distribute weapons, armed Kurds begin to fight iranian troops. In Mountainous region between Iraq and Iran border Kurds seize control over army barracks and radio stations, in response two helicopter gunships fired at the rebels with casualties at 170.
* March 20: Fighting goes on in Sanandaj with more armed Kurds being fired at with helicopters, fighting had been going on in the past days with deaths at 106.
* March 21: Fighting goes on in Sanandaj with deaths at 100.
* March 22: Fighting goes on with Kurds ripping Khomeini posters
* March 23: In Sanandaj fighting slows down with the relasement of 168 political prisoners and ceasefire
* March 25: Negotiations between ayotollah taleghi and Mufti Zadeh in Sanandaj
* March 26: Additional 97 kurdish political prisoners are released in Sanandaj
* March 28: Light fighting still goes on in Sanandaj

April 1979

* April 2: Conflict intensifies near the iraqi border
* April 21: roads leading to Naqadeh city were blocked by kurdish Komalah with casualties at 10.
* April 22: Fighting between Kurds and Turks intensifies in the town of Naqadeh with iranian troops rushing in the town, the casualties were at 80 deaths.
* April 26: the Fighting between Turks and Kurds is calmed in the west azerbaijan province with about 1,000 deaths

June 1979

* June 4: Iraq fighting jets bombard severlad kurdish ianian villages with the deaths at 7.
* June 4: In Mahabad thousands of Kurds protested for autonomy
* July 24: Kurdish rebels seize army barracks in Khoy July 28, 1979: Clashes continue in western Kurdistan province for control over roads leading to the Iraq border with deaths being at 20. All residents of Marivan have reported to have fled the city, with iranian troops moving in to fight rebels that have control over Marivan and the hills surrounding it.(rebels have surrounded the city but troops have the city). Marivan to Iraqi borders road is blocked by Kurdish rebels, and fightin goes on there with 20 iranian troops being killed. Iranian troops control roads leading to Marivan from the east. The rebels mostly control the west of Marivan leading to the Iraqi border.Rebels have control over railroads leading into Turkey.

August 1979

* August 14: About 2,000 Kurdish PDKI rebels begin clashes in the town of Paveh
* August 16: Kurdish rebels occupy the town of Paveh after 2 days of fighting with 18 deaths. Kurds control mountain passes that lead to Paveh
* August 18: Mustafa chamaran is trapped by Kurdish rebels in the city. Later on the iranian troops have crushed the rebellion in Paveh with Kurds fleeing into the surrounding mountains
* August 19: Iranian troops are on the outskirts of Sanandaj ready to attack. 11 Kurdish rebels from paveh were executed.
* August 21: 29 kurdish rebels were executed. Iranian troops move towards the province of Kurdisan. Iranian troops and Kurdish rebels fight north of the Mahabad county(august 20th). Kurdish rebels controlled all roads leading to Mahabad.
* August 23: clashes continue and 89 kurdish rebels are killed. Heavy fighting goes on in the town in rebels hands called Saqqiz with about 2,000 Kurdish rebels, rebels managed to push iranian troops 12 miles outside the town, fighting is happening in the edge of Saqqiz. Around 102 iranian troops were killed. Around 5,000 iranian troops are fighting in the Kurdistan region. Rebels had control over importantroute south of Saqqiz leading to the Iraqi border(50 miles from the iraq border). Rebels also held Baneh and Bukan.
* August 24: 20 miles outside Mahabad heavy fighting had taken place with a stalemate on both sides.
* August 25: According to government officials the town of Saqqiz had fallen (august 24th), but the PDKI denied this. 29 Kurds had been executed. Saqqiz it reality was controlled by the rebels and itranian troops on two different sides, with both getting in reinforcements. Additional 16 deaths. Highway from yesterday and today between Saqqiz and Mahabad had been completely under control of rebels groups. Iranian troops had bases in Miandoab but rebels controlled the roads connecting miandoab to Mahabad. Iranian troops have surrounded the city, de Ghassemlou states that there are 100,000 armed kurds all around Kurdistan. 9 kurds are executed in marivan
* August 26: Saqqiz is occupied by the iranian troops. Iranian troops await in a small village of Solduz 20 miles from mahabad.
* August 27: 11 kurds executed near sanandaj, cease-fires are being decided(Sanandaj county northern region is captured)
* August 28: 20 kurds were executed, and the cease-fire had been turned down.
* August 29: the mountain town of Jaldian was attacked by rebels. 2 more Kurds were executed.
* August 30: iranian troops are 5 miles away from the city of Mahabad

September 1979

* September 1: F-4 jets and artillery have pushed back kurds in Saqqez and Bustam, and the mountainous region surrounding Baneh, army tanks are 3 miles away from mahabad. More than 100 kurds will be executed.
* September 2: Kurdish rebels numbering at around 20,000 managed to repel 400 iranian troops from the mountains of Mahabad who were moving from the south, troops retreated to miandoab. Troops had captured 2 cities near Mahabad. Troops control all routes leading to Mahabad. Rebels had given up the town of Bukan. Troops had defeated rebels in Piranshahr. 17 troops had been ambushed with funerals taking place in Naqadeh.
* September 3: Kurdish rebels move south and fight in a town 40 miles away from Mahabad. Troops break kurdish line of defense.
* September 4: Iranian troops break through the cities defense on south and north of Mahabad. Rebels flee to Sardasht to get ready for another guerilla war. Iranian troops push into Baneh county from the west with the fall of Mahabad. Kurds kill 16 troops near Doab region.
* September 5: 50,000 armed kurdish rebels flee to the Iraqi border. Rebels have been trapped in Sardasht region. 8 kurdish rebels had been executed. Rebels capture Piranshahr town. September 6, 1979: Sardasht had been captured. 10,000 Kurdish rebels fled the town of Sardasht to the rural areas of Sardasht. Clashes still go on in regions in northwestern iran`. Minor clashes in Mahabad. Ultimatum had been sent to rebels around the Saqqiz region and that had captured Saqqiz.
* September 7: 5,000 turkish kurds volunteered to fight alongside the rebels in Iran, they promised that they would have control over the turkish-iranian frontier. October 13, 1979: Rebels slowly move towards Mahabd and capture some regions October 20, 1979: Kurdish rebels recapture Mahabad.

October 1979

* October 31: Mahabad falls fully under the control of 1,000 PDKI rebels. Rebels claimed to have controlled most roads leading to Mahabad.

November 1979

* November 2: Government starts negotiations with the PDKI to give them some kind of self-rule.
* November: Sometime in November rebels enter Shino.
* November 3: Iranian troops were ordered to stop fighting for peace plans, non-Kurdish leftist rebels were fighting in Baneh to disrupt the peace.
* November 20: Ghasemlou delivers a speech in Mahabad.
* November 26: Kurds declare a truce in Iran and vow to fight USA alongside iranian troops. 20 day cease-fire has been put into action with troops withdrawing from Kurdish regions. Towards the end of November: attacks against almost every significant kurdish city begins again.

December 1979

* December 3: Kurds do not participate in the referendum.
* December 4: Tensions are increasing among the negotiations.
* December 6: Iranian troops move into Kurdistan to stop the unrest after the referendum. Helicopters have bombed 3 Kurdish villages near Urmia, military is trying to surround Sanadaj.
* December 30: Revolutionary guards have been kidnapped near the province of Kermanshah.

1980

* January 1: Heavy fighting breaks out in Sanandaj.
* May 31: Kurdish rebels present in Baneh.

Aftermath

While most of its military and political activity in Iran was greatly reduced after the 1979–1981 rebellion, the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran had continued its opposition activities through the 1980s. In 1989, the KDPI renewed its military activities, among which most notable was the 1990 fighting, in which some 300 Iranian soldiers were allegedly killed.

Beginning in 1985, military conflict broke out between the KDPI and Komala inside northern Iraq, leading to hundreds of deaths among the two rebel groups.

Since 1996, following an effective political and military crackdown, the conflict of KDPI against the Iranian government mainly shifted to political opposition abroad.

A renewed insurgency has taken place in Iranian Kurdistan since 2004 by another Kurdish militant organization— PJAK, affiliated with the Turkish PKK as part of the Kurdistan Communities Union.

Conflict parties

* Islamic Republic of Iran
* PDKI
* Komala (Komalay Shorshgeri Zahmatkeshani Kurdistani Iran), or Komala, or Society of the Revolutionary Toilers of Iranian Kurdistan)
* Kurdish branch of the Fadayan
* National Council of Resistance of Iran

In media

Ettela'at newspaper publication

On 27 August 1979, in Sanandaj, Iran, 11 Kurdish prisoners were executed by a firing squad following a 30-minute trial under chief justice Sadegh Khalkhali. Jahangir Razmi, a photographer for Iran's independent Ettela’at newspaper, captured the execution on film.

Within hours an anonymous photo of the execution ran across 6 columns of the paper. On September 8, the newspaper was seized by the Foundation for the Disinherited, a state-owned holding company. On April 14, 1980, the photo won a Pulitzer Prize. In 2006, Razmi made public 27 images from the execution that he had kept hidden.

Che (2014 film)

In 2014, a film by the name of Che was produced detailing the experiences of Mostafa Chamran Save'ei during the battle for the city of Paveh, part of the 1979 conflict in Kurdistan province. It won a number of awards, including two Crystal Simorghs in the fields of best editing and best visual effects.

List of footage or documentaries taken during the rebellion

* https://www.britishpathe.com/video/VLVAKFVVVZMAFD0PE233KMJLU06Q-IRAN-KURDS-GATHER-TO-DEMAND-SELF-RULE-WITHIN-IRAN/query/kurds
* https://www.britishpathe.com/video/VLVAC2G26LGKFZ4TZVDARI4EZXH43-IRAN-KURDS-FIGHT-ON-THOUGH-AYATOLLAH-KHOMEINI-THREATENS-TO/query/kurds
* https://www.britishpathe.com/video/VLVA9RQZJSK04X5SA2X12XEPFMZL8-RTV/query/kurds
* https://www.britishpathe.com/video/VLVA4561NROX0YTWPSDZECPDHS88B-IRAN-KURDS-BEGIN-TO-MOVE-FREELY-AGAIN-THROUGH-SANANDAJ-AFTER/query/kurds
* https://www.britishpathe.com/video/VLVA9RGW03W0RBJHKP4KWD9AF2G43-IRAN-IRANS-ARMED-FORCES-HALT-MILITARY-OPERATIONS-IN-KURDISTAN-IN/query/kurds
* https://www.britishpathe.com/video/VLVA338E96ZAVVZE10P6EMJ8C2XWJ-IRAN-GOVERNMENT-PEACE-MISSION-FLIES-TO-KURDISTAN-TO-DISCUSS/query/kurds
* https://www.britishpathe.com/video/VLVADJI1EMYYZU9K5RFDHC2S78MMS-IRAN-INTERVIEW-WITH-CHIEF-OF-CENTRAL-COMMITTEE-OF-THE-DEMOCRATIC/query/kurds
* https://www.britishpathe.com/video/VLVAESPZ26FMTD47UDT5EIYU6AWUB-IRAN-KURDISH-REBELS-ATTACK-MAHABAD-POLICE-STATION-AND-IRAQI/query/kurds
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8cApm_byHs
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y6kyXVnut0
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LreRdA44rE
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ei1LPyqxr0
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_dUEoWnUqg
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdXorbhgjsU
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW_YkLry25c
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32Gbe9X8C4w
* https://twitter.com/Komala_english/status/903642103737090049
* Death of Ghasemlou:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVTDVthalvM
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkWcQB1Z9GE
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgPJyoOVDcw
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ac1gjIDA48
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRl8IutlRu8
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mnj5hTlJzy8
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_LYsCJd1P4
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_CIbLcGbdA
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6dhZFlBaAg
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDArT7QJE9g
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmZvEs4rIn0
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Sjo-7SFeKo
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJLeH8Yo964
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ikp5j8A4WM
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUKhYNT35KA
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gayBvjTzSug
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy7K8fBBJYU
* https://www.britishpathe.com/video/VLVAAWOL418AWYJWYM89I3KLA0C5K-IRAN-KURDS-FIGHT-IRANIAN-TROOPS-AT-SAQQEZ/query/kurds
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yU2mR84t5o0
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yUgBqe71-Y
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIwaI9kv_tE

See also

* Timeline of Kurdish uprisings
* Kurdish independence movement in Iran

References

Further reading

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kurdish rebellion in Iran (1979)
20th-century rebellions
Kurdish separatism in Iran
Kurdish rebellions in Iran
Aftermath of the Iranian Revolution
1979 in Iran
1980 in Iran
1981 in Iran
1983 in Iran
Conflicts in 1979
Conflicts in 1980
Conflicts in 1981
Conflicts in 1983
20th century in Iran
Wars involving Iran