The 1979 Nationwide Attack

Negotiations between Kurdish leaders and the central government broke down in the months following the revolution. The new regime, fearing separatism and a challenge to its authority, rejected Kurdish demands for autonomy. Tensions quickly escalated into armed confrontations between Kurdish forces and the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).

On August 18, 1979, Khomeini issued a fatwa (religious decree) calling for a nationwide military operation against Kurdish movements in western. The campaign was framed as a defense of national unity against “separatists” and “enemies of the revolution.” The beginning of a long cycle of armed conflict between Kurdish groups and the central government that persisted throughout the 1980s.

August 19, 2025 | 2:31 am