Skip to content
You can now search across every topic, entity and event.What's new
Kurdistan
Nation / PlaceIR

Kurdistan

Iranian province and Kurdish heartland, heavily targeted during the 2026 Iran-Israel-US conflict.

Last refreshed: 22 May 2026

Key Question

Why did Kurdistan province suffer the highest military casualty concentration in the 2026 conflict?

Timeline for Kurdistan

View full timeline →
Common Questions
What is Kurdistan province in Iran?
Kurdistan (Kordestan) is a province in north-western Iran with a predominantly Kurdish population. It borders Iraq to the west. It is administered by Tehran but has a history of Kurdish autonomy movements.
How many people were killed in Kurdistan province in the 2026 Iran war?
Hengaw reported 1,480 military personnel killed across the four Kurdish-majority provinces (Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Ilam, and West Azerbaijan) between 28 February and 20 March 2026, alongside 98 civilians. These figures are higher than Iranian government counts.Source: Hengaw
Why was Kurdistan targeted in the Iran-Israel-US conflict?
Kurdistan province and adjacent Kurdish-majority provinces host significant Iranian military bases, which became primary targets in the 2026 conflict. Hengaw documented strikes on more than 240 bases across the four Kurdish provinces, with 1,480 military personnel killed.Source: Hengaw

Background

Kurdistan province and its neighbours are the epicentre of Iran's wartime political-prisoner execution cluster. On 21 May 2026, Ramin Zaleh and Karim Maroufpour — both linked to the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) — were executed at dawn at Naqadeh Central Prison, in West Azerbaijan, without prior notice to their families. Zaleh had been held since July 2024; Maroufpour, aged 29, since March 2021. Hengaw recorded that Zaleh's trial lasted only a few minutes.

The 21 May executions extend a documented pattern across the Kurdish-majority provinces throughout the conflict. On 20 May, two Iraqi nationals were executed on espionage charges — the first foreign nationals executed in the 2026 conflict — while Turkish national Gholamreza Khani Shakarab faced imminent execution on the same charge. Hengaw documented sustained arrests in Piranshahr, Bukan, and Urmia across 13-17 May, concentrated in Kurdish-majority provinces.

The strategic logic for Tehran appears to be that wartime conditions provide cover for executing political prisoners from PDKI, KDP, and Komala networks who would otherwise attract greater international attention. Amnesty International placed Iran's total 2026 executions above 200 in mid-May, against 2,159 in all of 2025; the accelerated pace in wartime is deliberate rather than incidental.

More questions
What is Hengaw and what does it say about Kurdistan?
Hengaw is a Norway-based Kurdish human rights organisation that monitors Iranian Kurdistan. During the 2026 conflict it published independent casualty reports with figures substantially higher than those of the Iranian Health Ministry, becoming the primary external source for battle damage assessment in the Kurdish provinces.Source: Hengaw
Is Iranian Kurdistan the same as Iraqi Kurdistan?
No. Iranian Kurdistan (Kordestan province) is an administrative province of Iran. The Kurdistan Region of Iraq is a separate autonomous region in northern Iraq with its own government and capital at Erbil. Both are part of the broader Kurdish cultural homeland but governed by different states.
Are Kurdish prisoners being executed in Iran during the 2026 conflict?
Yes. Ramin Zaleh and Karim Maroufpour, linked to the PDKI, were executed at Naqadeh Central Prison on 21 May 2026. Amnesty International counted more than 200 Iranian executions by mid-May 2026.Source: Hengaw / Amnesty International
What is the PDKI and why is it relevant to Iran's executions?
The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) is a Kurdish opposition party. Both prisoners executed at Naqadeh on 21 May 2026 were linked to the PDKI; Iran classifies membership as a capital offence.Source: Hengaw
Where is Naqadeh prison located?
Naqadeh Central Prison is in Naqadeh city, West Azerbaijan province, north-western Iran — one of the four Kurdish-majority provinces where Iran has concentrated wartime executions and arrests.Source: Hengaw
How many Kurdish prisoners has Iran executed in 2026?
Amnesty International counted more than 200 Iranian executions by mid-May 2026. Hengaw documented at least 22 political prisoners — concentrated in Kurdish-majority provinces — hanged in six weeks as of early May 2026.Source: Amnesty International / Hengaw