Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan

It is not known when exactly the organization began its activity. According to the account of Abdullah Mohtadi, he co-founded the group on 27 October 1969 at a secret initiation meeting together with six other Kurdish students in Tehran. This is disputed by Hussein Moradbegi and Iraj Farzad, two co-founders who state that the group was officially born on 26 January 1979. Abbas Vali argues the latter view is correct, as the 1969-established organization had no specific ethnic identity and had no position on Kurdistan, and Kurdish members of the former –Foad Mostafa Soltani, Mohammad Hossein Karimi, Abdollah Mohtadi, Tayeb Abbas Ruh Illahi, Mohsen Rahimi, Ibrahim Alizade, Sa’ed Vatandoust, Hussein Moradbagi, Omar Ilkhanizadeh and Iraj Farzad– created an offshoot. The organization initially operated underground, and became public after the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Ladislav Bittman wrote in The KGB and Soviet Disinformation that Komala was part of the KGB's network in Iran, and was founded under the financial and ideological influence of the Soviet Union. Edgar O'Ballance states that Komala received "help" from the Soviet KGB. In 1981, Komala refused to join the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). In September 1983, the group underwent organizational changes and patterned itself as an orthodox communist party, eventually joining the Communist Party of Iran, as its Kurdish wing. During the George W. Bush administration, the group's leader met American officials in 2005 and 2006 amidst approval of Iran Freedom and Support Act budget. While it is unclear which groups have been funded through the program, Mohtadi welcomed aid in 2008 and stated "If you’re a political movement that is part of an opposition, you need help from abroad... We're not ashamed to admit it." In 2006, the party set up its Sweden-based satellite television named Rojhelat TV. The Turkish TV channel NTV reported that the channel has been established with financial assistance from the United States. The faction led by Omar Ilkhanizade split in October 2007 on the grounds that the politburo acted non-democratically, founding the faction of reform. On 29 April 2008, another faction, led by Abdulla Konaposhi, accused Mohtadi of "non-democratic management", and expressing dissatisfaction with a policy of cooperation with monarchists including Reza Pahlavi, split from the group to establish the reunification faction. On 21 June 2023, the alliance between the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan and Komala of the Toilers of Kurdistan collapsed. Following the collapse, the two clashed, and as a result of the infighting, two were killed and three were wounded. The clashes took place in Zargawez in Iraq's Kurdistan Region. Norway-based Kurdish human rights NGO Hengaw offered readiness to mediate between the two. == Ideology ==

The group is ideologically Marxist–Leninist, therefore it saw itself revolutionary and transcending ethnic boundaries, unlike the rival Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan. The Komala Party claims to support social democracy, federalism, and secularism in Iran. Michael Gunter says that inspired by Chinese Communist Revolution, they became Maoists and viewed Kurdish nationalism as parochial. However at its first congress held in 1979, the ideology was renounced due to being "inappropriate to Kurdish conditions in Iran". In 2000, when the party claimed reestablishment, it criticized some reports to the 8th congress of the CPI in 1995 for not being correct from the Marxist viewpoint and giving more privileges to the bourgeois nationalist groups. Sabah Mofidi described the party's position on political spectrum in 2016 as "radical left", adding that "in the line of the created changes in the practical thought of Marxism and indeed the indigenous Marxism accommodated with the place-time conditions of various societies, it has become more pragmatic and taken steps to realism". It is currently a member of the Progressive Alliance which was formed in 2013 as an international association of social democratic and socialist parties. == Armed activities ==

Following Iran–Iraq War, the group were stationed inside Iraqi soil and were supported by Saddam Hussein and his Ba'athist regime, who was willing to leverage insurgent groups against Tehran. After 1991, they found more secure sanctuaries under de facto autonomous Kurdistan Region. Headquarters of the group is currently located in an installation in Zergwez, about a 20-minute drive southeast of Sulaymaniya. A European mission reported in 2012 that the camp has strict security measures at the entry gate. A report published by Combating Terrorism Center in 2017, estimated that the group has less than 1,000 members. == Designation as a terrorist organization ==

Iran and Japan have listed Komala as a terrorist organization. == Lobbying activities ==

In September 2018, the group opened an office in Washington D.C., and formally registered as a lobby organization in the United States, while it was reported to hold meetings with Congressmen from both parties since at least 2015. One-fourth of latter included working on an op-ed, advise to establish a charitable foundation in the U.S., and "develop" a Wikipedia page. ==References==