The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Thursday it killed five members of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), while the Kurdish opposition group told Fox News Digital that six of its Peshmerga, a term for Kurdish fighters, were killed in an IRGC ambush in northwest Iran.

The clash marks another escalation in Iran’s Kurdish-majority west after days of reported attacks and clashes involving Iranian security forces, the IRGC and Kurdish armed factions.

Hejar Berenji, the U.S. representative of the PDKI, confirmed that six PDKI Peshmerga were killed in a clash with IRGC forces in the Piranshahr area of Iranian Kurdistan. The IRGC claimed it had killed five members of the banned PDKI in northwest Iran, according to Reuters, citing state media. The IRGC stated the group was ambushed after entering Iranian territory in mountainous border areas near Piranshahr in West Azerbaijan Province.

Berenji identified the six Peshmerga as Karo Hormuziari, Fardin Changizi, Mohammad Khaki, Abdullah Mohammadpour, Twana Osmani and Mohammad Amin Bayezidi. He said the incident took place Wednesday night in the village of Qizqapan, near Piranshahr, and described the PDKI unit as being on a "political and organizational mission" when it was "ambushed by a large and heavily equipped IRGC force."

This event is understood within the broader context of the Islamic Republic’s continued repression in Iranian Kurdistan and its repeated attacks on Iranian Kurdish civilian camps in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, even during ceasefire and negotiation periods, Berenji said. He added that the regime has increased pressure on Kurdish communities because it recognizes that Iranian Kurds remain among the most organized and determined democratic forces inside Iran.

Majeed Gly, president of the American Kurdish Committee, stated that the latest clashes should not be interpreted as a full-scale uprising but also should not be dismissed as routine border violence. He noted that this is not business as usual, but rather operations that appear to be deep inside the country.

Gly indicated that Kurdish frustration has grown sharply following months of Iranian attacks on Kurdish areas and opposition-linked sites, including in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. He reported that the region has experienced over 850 attacks since February, resulting in at least six civilian deaths and dozens of injuries.

The PDKI, one of Iran’s oldest Kurdish opposition movements, has been involved in decades of intermittent conflict with the Islamic Republic. Tehran has long viewed armed Kurdish factions as separatist or "terrorist threats." The Kurds are one of the largest stateless ethnic groups in the Middle East, with communities across Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.

The recent violence follows several days of unrest in western Iran. Iranian state media reported a similar incident near Piranshahr on Tuesday, where the IRGC claimed to have killed six members of what it described as an "opposition and separatist group." Separately, two IRGC members were killed and two wounded in a shooting in Kermanshah Province on Monday evening, an attack claimed by a newly formed Kurdish armed group seeking retaliation for the IRGC’s role in suppressing the 2022–2023 protest movement, according to the Kurdish rights group Hengaw.

Berenji asserted that the latest clash was not a response to ongoing U.S.–Iran memorandum of understanding negotiations and is not dependent on them. He stated that the Kurdish struggle for freedom, democracy, and national rights predates current negotiations. However, he cautioned that any agreement ignoring the Kurdish question, the regime’s attacks on Kurdish civilians, and repression inside Iran will not yield true stability.

Gly suggested that anger among Kurds has been amplified by language in the U.S.–Iran memorandum of understanding that critics interpret as Washington agreeing not to interfere in Iran’s internal affairs, a sentiment he believes has alienated every Iranian opposition group, particularly the Kurds.

While Gly does not see clear evidence of major new military capabilities gained by Kurdish groups, he noted a shift in the perception of Iran’s strength, with individuals being less afraid of the regime.

This renewed violence carries broader significance as Iranian Kurdish opposition groups were recently considered a potential pressure point against Tehran. U.S. officials and Kurdish groups had discussed a potential military operation against Iranian security forces in western Iran, and a separate report indicated Israeli backing for Iranian Kurdish plans to seize Iranian border areas, though such an operation would likely require U.S. and Israeli support. However, these expectations diminished in April when Kurdish fighters ultimately stayed out of the conflict due to mixed signals from Washington and Israel, as well as Iranian threats and strikes against Kurdish positions in Iraq.

Berenji clarified that the PDKI does not seek chaos but maintains the right to self-defense against repression, intimidation, and attacks by the IRGC, advocating for a democratic, pluralistic, secular, and federal Iran where all nations and communities can live with dignity and rights.