In 2025, Iran faced a series of unprecedented and multi-layered developments across the military, political and social spheres, developments that have cast serious uncertainty over the country’s future.

More than three decades after the end of the Iran–Iraq War, in June 2025, the United States and Israel carried out 12 days of air strikes on Iranian territory.

The Islamic Republic of Iran, which in recent years had pursued a strategy of keeping conflict away from its borders through reliance on proxy forces in countries such as Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen, became the direct target of extensive attacks in June 2025. At the same time, growing public dissatisfaction with the country’s political, social and economic conditions, combined with the ongoing shadow of war and repression, further complicated the situation and deepened a widespread sense of uncertainty about the future.

One of the key developments affecting Kurdistan over the past year was the establishment of the Dialogue Center of Kurdish Parties, followed by the creation of the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan. Since the founding of the Islamic Republic, and due to the historical context of Kurdish struggles in Iran, the influence of political parties in Kurdistan, and the presence of a dynamic civil society, Kurdistan has consistently been a focal point of political and military confrontation between the state and the Kurdish population. The broad support for the newly formed political coalition among the Kurdish public demonstrates the significant influence and effectiveness of these parties. At the same time, the reaction of state institutions and media indicated growing concern and alarm within the Islamic Republic over this convergence.

During this year, and in continuation of protests that began in December 2017, another wave of widespread demonstrations swept across cities in Iran on 28 December 2025. These protests were met with an unprecedented and deadly crackdown by military and security forces. The repression, particularly on 8 and 9 January 2026, became one of the bloodiest episodes in Iran’s contemporary history, with reports indicating that thousands of citizens were killed and tens of thousands injured or arrested.

Investigations carried out by KHRN indicate that hundreds of Kurdish citizens were killed during these protests. However, due to internet shutdowns and pressure and threats against families, the identities of only 240 Kurdish victims, including 20 children, have so far been documented. Of these, 81 were killed in Kermanshah Province, 11 in Ilam Province, 75 in Tehran Province, 28 in Alborz Province, 13 in Razavi Khorasan Province, 12 in North Khorasan Province, six in Gilan Province, four in Qazvin Province, two in Lorestan Province, two in Isfahan Province, two in Markazi Province, one in Kurdistan Province, one in Khuzestan Province, one in Mazandaran Province, and one in Hormozgan Province. These individuals lost their lives as a result of gunfire or stab wounds and baton blows inflicted by military and security forces.

Although official figures released by the Islamic Republic claim the total number of those killed at 3,038, cross-checking this list with cases documented by KHRN shows that at least 29 names are missing from the government’s records. Additionally, at least two sources in Kermanshah who, on 8 and 9 January, witnessed bodies at the city’s forensic medicine building while collecting the remains of their loved ones, reported that at least 329 bodies of victims were present in that facility alone.

Interviews with families of several victims, along with images obtained of some of the bodies, indicate that these individuals were deliberately targeted by military and security forces, with shots aimed at their heads. In several cases, security forces also forced families to pay sums amounting to billions of rials in order to retrieve the bodies of their loved ones.

In response to the protests, the authorities imposed widespread internet shutdowns in an attempt to restrict the flow of information and regain control. However, the prevailing security climate in Iran not only persisted but also intensified further alongside the resumption of military attacks in March.

During the protests and the violent crackdown in cities across Kurdistan, including Kermanshah and Ilam, the Dialogue Center of Kurdish Parties issued a call for a general strike across all cities in Iranian Kurdistan. On 8 January 2026, despite threats against shopkeepers and traders by security institutions, one of the most widespread public strikes in Kurdistan took place.

At the same time, the continuation of war conditions, rising inflation and unemployment, and increasing economic pressure have made living conditions for citizens significantly more difficult, with a pervasive sense of insecurity and concern about the future now dominating society.

Key Statistics at a Glance

The figures above represent documented cases only. The actual number of violations is likely substantially higher, as many cases go unreported due to fear of reprisal against victims and their families.

Detentions and Arrests

In 2025, at least 561 Kurdish civilians and activists in the provinces of West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Ilam, Kermanshah, Tehran, Isfahan, North Khorasan, Razavi Khorasan, Hamadan, Alborz and Gilan were arrested by security forces or judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran for political reasons. The highest number of arrests occurred in the cities of Sanandaj in Kurdistan Province and Bukan and Mahabad in West Azerbaijan Province.

Among those arrested were at least 16 children, 87 activists, 23 protesters, and 10 members of dadkhah families who had lost loved ones to state violence in Iran.

While some of the detainees were later released on bail, others remain in custody, and some have been transferred to prison to serve their sentences.

Sentences

In 2025, at least 123 Kurdish civilians and activists faced charges of a political nature and were sentenced by Islamic Revolutionary Courts, Criminal Courts, Special Clerical Courts and Administrative Courts of Justice in various provinces. These sentences included executions, fixed and suspended prison terms, dismissal from work, monetary fines, and other penalties. Some of these sentences were upheld by appellate courts and the Supreme Court of Iran.

This year, the highest number of sentences were issued by the Islamic Revolutionary Courts in Mahabad and Sanandaj, in Kurdistan Province, as well as by the Appeals Board for Administrative Violations of the Ministry of Education, which handed down rulings including dismissals, forced retirements and suspensions from government employment.

Kurdish Political Prisoners at Risk of Execution

At present, nine Kurdish political prisoners – Pakhshan Azizi, Hatem Ozdemir, Yousef Ahmadi, Mehrab Abdollahzadeh, Nasser Bakerzadeh, Rauf Sheikh-Maroufi, Mohammad Faraji, Ramin Zaleh and Karim Maroufpour – who have been sentenced to death on charges including “armed insurrection” (baghi) and “enmity against God” (moharebeh) following unfair proceedings by the Islamic Revolutionary Courts in the cities of Tehran, Mahabad, Orumiyeh and Sanandaj, are being held in Evin, Orumiyeh, Naqadeh, Sanandaj and Bukan prisons. According to available information, the death sentences of at least four of these prisoners have been upheld by the Supreme Court and they are at risk of execution.

These prisoners have faced inhumane death sentences under unfair conditions, including denial of access to a lawyer of their choice, severe physical and psychological torture, and unfair trials. The families of these prisoners and human rights organisations have warned about their critical situation, the risk of confirmation of the death sentences, and the danger of their implementation, calling for the annulment of these sentences and immediate attention to their critical conditions.

Additionally, the cases of Verisheh Moradi, Ali (Soran) Ghassemi, Pezhman Soltani, Kaveh Salehi and Rezgar Beigzadeh Babamiri have been referred back to the Islamic Revolutionary Courts for retrial after their death sentences were overturned by the Supreme Court. These individuals, who had previously been sentenced to death through unfair proceedings, remain in a state of legal uncertainty in Evin and Orumiyeh Central prisons and face charges including “armed insurrection” (baghi), “spreading corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel-arz), and “enmity against God” (moharebeh). Given the history of their cases, there is a risk that death sentences may be reissued against them.

Executions

KHRN has documented and confirmed the execution of 122 prisoners in various prisons across the country in 2025. The majority of these executions took place in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj and Kermanshah Central Prison.

Of these, 63 individuals were executed for drug-related offences, 46 for “premeditated murder”, and four for “rape” or “rape and murder”.

Additionally, in 2025, nine Kurdish political prisoners were executed. These include Amir Reza Ghobadi, Majid Hatami, Sajjad Hatami, and Saman Mohammad Khiyareh on charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh); Edris Ali, Azad Shojaei, and Rasoul Ahmad Rasoul for “collaboration and espionage for Israel”; and Hamid Hosseinnezhad Heidaranlou and Mehdi Asgharzadeh for “armed insurrection” (baghi).

Femicide

In 2025, at least 26 Kurdish women were victims of femicide and, in most cases, the perpetrators were male relatives of the victims. 12 women were killed by their husbands, five by fathers, three by sons-in-law, two by ex-husbands, two by suitors, one by a family acquaintance and one by her neighbour. In four cases, the perpetrators committed suicide. In another case, the murderer, who was the father, attempted suicide and was taken to hospital.

The methods of murder included 16 gunshots, two stabbings, one deliberate burning, one head trauma, one beating with stones, one strangulation with a scarf, one poisoning and one case of torture and rape. In two cases, the method of murder remains unknown.

By provincial breakdown, 13 women were killed in Kermanshah Province, five in West Azerbaijan Province, four in Ilam Province, three in Kurdistan Province, and one in Lorestan Province.

Kolbars

In 2025, at least 19 Kurdish kolbars lost their lives in the border regions of Kurdistan and Kermanshah provinces. Among them, 15 were killed by direct gunfire from Iranian military forces, one died due to frostbite, one due to cardiac arrest, one in a road accident and one lost his life in an avalanche.

Moreover, at least 21 kolbars sustained injuries in the border regions of Kurdistan, West Azerbaijan, and Kermanshah provinces. Among these, 20 were injured due to direct gunfire or physical assaults by Iranian military forces, while one was injured from a landmine explosion.

The border areas of Baneh and Marivan in Kurdistan Province, with nine and six recorded fatalities respectively, as well as the highest numbers of injuries, were among the most hazardous zones for kolbars over the past year.

Extrajudicial Killings

At least 14 Kurdish civilians were killed by Iranian and Turkish military forces in the provinces of West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Kermanshah and Ilam in 2025. Of these, 13 were shot by Iranian police, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and border forces, while one was shot by Turkish border forces in Maku, West Azerbaijan Province.

Deaths in Prisons and Detention Facilities

In 2025, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) documented the death of at least one individual in prison custody. Kamran Kazemi, from Kermanshah, died at Orumiyeh Central Prison in March. The official cause of death was reported as suicide; however, sources familiar with the case indicated that he may have died as a result of torture sustained while in detention.

Landmine Explosions

In 2025, KHRN documented six individuals affected by landmine explosions in Kurdish-populated border areas of Iran.

Two separate incidents were recorded. In January, an explosion in Gilan-e Gharb, Kermanshah Province, resulted in one amputation and one injury. In August, four children were injured in a landmine explosion in Divandarreh, Kurdistan Province.

Some of these landmines and explosive remnants of war date back to the Iran-Iraq War and the Islamic Republic’s military campaigns in Kurdistan during the 1980s. Others have been planted in recent years during military exercises by the Islamic Republic or as part of measures aimed at countering the presence of Kurdish opposition parties in these regions.

Enforced Disappearances

Mohsen Ghaderi, a member of the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), and Saeid Safaei, a civilian from Bukan, were arrested by security forces during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel and have been subjected to enforced disappearance. More than nine months on, no information has been obtained about their fate.

Armed Clashes between Iranian Forces and Kurdish Opposition Parties

In the early hours of 19 July 2025, an IRGC kamikaze drone strike targeting a vehicle near the village of Shiwah Gwezan in Penjwen, Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, resulted in the killing of one member of the Eastern Kurdistan Units (YRK), the armed wing of (PJAK, and the injury of another.

Additionally, in two separate armed clashes in the border areas of Baneh, Kurdistan Province, on 21 and 22 July, at least three border guards were killed and five others were wounded.

The Situation in Prisons

The conditions in Iranian prisons are dire due to various factors, including severe overcrowding, with the number of inmates far exceeding the capacity of the facilities, poor hygiene standards, and a lack of medical resources. In prisons such as Orumiyeh, Sanandaj, Kermanshah, and Ilam, newly arrived prisoners are often forced to sleep on the floors of rooms and corridors due to insufficient space. Sick prisoners face serious challenges due to the limitations of prison medical services. There are no specialist doctors available, and inmates requiring urgent specialist care must wait months for approval from prison authorities and the judiciary. This process is often only possible by paying exorbitant fees, which are necessary for prisoners to pursue medical treatment.

In the women’s wards of prisons in these provinces, some inmates are held in extremely poor conditions alongside their young children. Heating, ventilation, cooling systems, and access to hot water in these wards are persistently problematic. In some cases, prisoners have been deprived of hot water in bathrooms and toilets for months.