The Rojhilat Political Forces Alliance, formed by the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDK-Î), the Xebat Organisation of Iranian Kurdistan, and the Kurdistan Workers’ Society, issued a joint written statement criticizing Pahlavi’s online remarks. The statement highlighted that his calls came shortly after the alliance’s formation, which was no coincidence.

 

The statement noted that the announcement of the alliance was met with revolutionary enthusiasm among the people of Kurdistan and other oppressed communities, as well as freedom advocates across Iran. “The declaration resonated widely among Iran’s combative political forces and international political circles. In contrast, the Islamic Republic and certain groups, who cloak themselves in the guise of ‘opposition’ but oppose the rights and democratic freedoms of oppressed peoples, responded with hysterical and vindictive reactions. This was entirely expected,” the statement said.

 

It continued that Pahlavi’s post was part of a series of hostile responses: “On platform X, he provocatively targeted the Kurdish people and the region’s political parties with his usual baseless accusations. Once again, he wielded the ‘separatism’ threat, claiming he would deploy the army to suppress Kurdish demands for rights after the fall of the Islamic Republic. He seems to have forgotten the historical reality that no one—not his father nor his grandfather—authorized any will to divide Iran without resistance.”

 

‘A SYMBOL OF SHAH’S SUBMISSION’

 

The statement recalled the Shah-era agreements that ceded “Little Mount Ararat” to Turkey, “Bahrain” to the United Kingdom, and concessions along the Helmand River, highlighting the Shah’s record of compromising Iran’s territorial integrity.

 

The statement said: “Throughout history, the Shah and his regime consistently embodied a submissionist approach. The only arena where they demonstrated capability was in massacring civilians and suppressing the democratic freedoms of Iran’s oppressed peoples. His repeated threats to use the army against the political demands of Iran’s peoples indicate that, in his envisioned future Iran, civilian and democratic demands would be met with the same militarized suppression. How could he imagine that a population exhausted by the Islamic Republic dictatorship would accept him or his ilk as a viable alternative? Moreover, he lacks an understanding of contemporary realities. Otherwise, he would know that the state’s coercive tools and the Revolutionary Guards he admires have never been absent from Kurdistan. No mechanism of repression remains untried or unfailed there. After an imaginary coronation, he holds no position to act in this field. Pahlavi’s attack on the Kurdish freedom movement coincides with a critical period—spanning the ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadi (Woman, life, freedom)’ movement sparked by Jina Emini’s killing and the recent uprisings—where his controversial associates sought to sow division among the people and anti-regime forces. The only political movement he has sympathized with are the regime’s armed, security, and repressive forces.”

 

‘PAHLAVI WHO ALLIED WITH KHAMENEI’

 

The statement also highlighted the irony of Pahlavi accusing Kurdish parties of collaborating with Khamenei, noting that during a period when Kurdistan was under deadly attacks following Khamenei’s jihad edicts, Reza Pahlavi himself had written a letter seeking recognition as an ordinary pilot within Khamenei’s forces. 

 

“It is astonishing that someone with such a shameful past would accuse Kurdish parties of collaborating with Khamenei or foreign powers. He misled uprisen citizens with false promises that the regime’s forces were not involved in repression and that all crimes were orchestrated by external actors. After Iran’s liberation and the prosecution of the regime’s treacherous leaders, he too should be held accountable for these acts of betrayal. The Iran Kurdistan Political Forces Alliance condemns Pahlavi’s baseless and humiliating statements while reaffirming the Kurdish people’s goals and the legitimate rights of oppressed communities in Iran. We believe that such hostile rhetoric will achieve nothing; instead, it will strengthen the resolve of freedom-loving peoples and Iranian activists to achieve their goals and permanently eliminate all forms of dictatorship and fascism. We once again call on all Kurdish forces who seek freedom and the protection of their people’s rights to join the ranks of the Iran Kurdistan Political Forces Alliance against hegemonic and totalitarian rhetoric.”

 

On 22 February, five Kurdish parties in Rojhilat announced the formation of the Rojhilat Political Forces Alliance. In response, Reza Pahlavi posted online that “Iran’s current borders are our red line.” The post was met with widespread criticism from Iranian and Rojhilat political and democratic institutions, human rights defenders, and thousands of citizens.