ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iran’s intelligence ministry has been negotiating with two Kurdish rebel groups, a key advisor to Iran’s president revealed.
Ali Yunesi, advisor on minority affairs, said that the Iranian intelligence ministry had held negotiations with the two main Iranian-Kurdish parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (PDK) and Komala.
“The intelligence ministry is authorized to use any means in order to pursue our security goals, even if that means negotiating with terrorists and Iran’s enemies,” Yunesi told a Kurdish reporter.
“The negotiations were in the security framework and within this framework it is not surprising to negotiate with a group while you are fighting it at the same time,” he added.
The PDK has admitted to negotiations with the Iranian government, but other Iranian-Kurdish parties and Iranian Intelligence Minister Mahmood Alawi have previously denied such claims.
PDK secretary general, Khalid Azizi, previously told Rudaw that his group had met twice with a senior Iranian security delegation in the Kurdistan Region. “The delegation expressed their view regarding a solution for the Kurdish issue in Iran,” he added.
Aso Hassanzada, a senior PDK official, told Rudaw: “There has not been any official negotiation. However, at the request of the Iranians and with the presence of a third party, we held discussions to exchange views on our disagreements. “
He said Iranian officials were making such disclosures to show themselves willing to resolve domestic issues, as they are doing on the international front.
But he does not have faith in the Iranians: “They have no real intention to resolve the Kurdish issue. The ongoing changes in the region could possibly impact the security of Iran. When that day comes, they want to have a plan B.”
He said Iran could also be attempting to sow divisions among the various Kurdish groups, “or encourage them to quit armed struggle by showing them that the regime is seeking a peaceful solution.”
Hassanzada said that “Iran has treated the Kurdish issue within the security framework,” but that “it is a political one not one of security.”
Iranian Kurdish parties have long said that they believe in peaceful solutions for the Kurdish issue in Iran. However, they insist that the success of the process requires showing good faith from the Iranian side.
In 1989, Iranian agents assassinated the KDPI leader Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou and his friends during negotiations in Vienna. Ever since, Iranian Kurdish parties have been very cautious about holding meetings with the Iranian government.
The PDK and Komala have previously denied any negotiations with the Iranian government.
Muhammad Qadiri, a KDPI official, told Rudaw: “We have not held any discussions with the Iranians. Because we believe the Islamic Republic has no solution for the Kurdish issue. Their only goal is to harm the Kurdish movement and repeat the history by betraying our trust.”
Abubakr Mudarisi, deputy-secretary of Komala, also denied negotiations with the Iranians: “The goal behind such news is manipulation.”
“A peaceful political approach is the only solution to the Kurdish issue in Iran. So far, we have not sensed such intention from the Iranians,” he said.
Mudarisi added that Tehran must take certain steps before his party would agree to negotiations. “Iran must first show good faith in negotiations, cease the militarization of Iranian Kurdistan, release political prisoners and start transparent negotiations with the representatives of all the Iranian Kurdish parties.”
