DW NewsThousands of Iranian Kurds live in exile in Iraqi Kurdistan, many of them eager to take up the fight against the Iranian regime, hoping to finally be able to return to their homeland. Their hopes have been spurred by the US and Israeli war on Iran. Kurds in the region have been seeking greater autonomy for their people for decades. While many Iraqi Kurds sympathize with the struggle of Iranian Kurds, there are fears that Iranian Kurdish action from here against the Tehran regime could lead to retaliation by Iran or its proxies in Iraq.
Most of the Iranian Kurds came to Iraq after Iran’s Islamic revolution in 1979, some more, especially young women, left Iran and came after the Mahsa Amini protests in 2022 and 2023. DW’s Senior International Correspondent Fanny Facsar and Afif Hanna Amireh report from Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan.
00:00 Kurds and US-Israel war
01:15 Iranian Kurds a main target for Iran
03:30 Iranian female fighters in exile poised to fight regime
05:20 Iraqi Kurds drawn into the conflict
07:00 Iraqi Economy hit by Iran war
08:00 Future of Iraqi Kurdistan hangs in the balance
