Column criticizes Saar's statements on Iranian Kurds — Jerusalem Post
Iranian journalist Tina Ghazimorad criticized statements by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar concerning Iran’s Kurds in a column for the Jerusalem Post. According to her, Saar made these comments at a Jewish-Kurdish conference in London, United Kingdom, on September 6–7, 2026.
The author believes that Israeli rhetoric does not take into account the differences between the majority of Iranian Kurds and transnational separatist movements. She argues that support for separatist sentiments could undermine trust in Israel among Iranians, including the Kurdish population.
Kurdish identity in Iran
Ghazimorad writes that many Iranian Kurds identify with Iranian national identity and support the country’s territorial integrity. As an example, she cites Kermanshah, which she calls Iran’s largest Kurdish city.
The column mentions the Behistun Inscription from the time of Darius the Great, located near Kermanshah, as well as the Sasanian complex of Taq-e Bostan in the city. The author also refers to clashes with separatist Kurdish groups in western Iran after the 1979 revolution.
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References to the PKK
The author links some separatist movements in Iran’s Kurdish regions to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and its ideology. She notes that in the 1980s and 1990s, Syrian authorities led by Hafez al-Assad hosted Abdullah Öcalan, while PKK camps operated in Lebanon’s Syrian-controlled Beqaa Valley.
Ghazimorad also states that the PKK had historical organizational and training ties with Palestinian paramilitary groups and that the party’s fighters took part in hostilities against Israel in 1982. She presents these claims as an argument against Israel’s support for separatist forces.
At the end of the column, Ghazimorad reports that she works as communications director for Prince Reza Pahlavi and previously served as editor-in-chief of news at the Persian-language Manoto TV channel in the United Kingdom.
