Iran tightens grip on Kurdish region amid disproportionate executions

Iran has intensified its military presence and established more checkpoints in its Kurdish region, especially near the Iraqi border, according to a British government bulletin. Security forces are reportedly occupying local facilities, including schools, as tensions rise in the ethnically Kurdish areas.

The Kurdish community has faced disproportionate state violence, a situation highlighted by the violent suppression of January demonstrations. During these protests, Iranian Kurds accounted for approximately 3.5% of all deaths, with significant discrepancies noted between official regime figures and those reported by NGOs. One organization reported over 2,000 Kurdish arrests during the demonstrations, out of a total estimated at 53,777.

Further evidence of the crackdown includes reports of 855 Kurdish and Lorestan citizens imprisoned, including 53 women. In March 2026, 17.6% of those arrested were Kurds. The judicial system also shows a pattern of targeting, with over 49% of political, civil, and religious activists tried in 2025 belonging to the Kurdish ethnic group. Alarmingly, one-third of Kurdish detainees received death sentences.

While the number of cross-border couriers, known as kolbars, killed in 2025 decreased compared to the previous year, this decline is attributed to the Iran-Israel war disrupting travel rather than improved security conditions. Verifying the exact number of executions among Kurds remains difficult, with NGOs providing conflicting estimates, suggesting they comprised between 5% and 14% of all executions in Iran in 2025. The increased military presence and checkpoints underscore the regime's ongoing efforts to control and suppress dissent in the region.

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Although restrictions have increased, the bulletin noted that fewer kolbars (cross-border couriers) were killed in 2025 than in the previous year. However, it attributed the decline in deaths to the Iran-Israel war, which prevented many kolbars from attempting the journey.