Published: TUESDAY March 17, 2026: 'Dangerous Game: Kurdistan's Peshmerga' Photography by ZUMA Press represented Le Pictorium agency photographer Adrien Vautier: For Iran's Kurds, the US-Israeli war against the Islamist regime could be a pivotal moment in their history. The US has made an outreach to Iranian Kurdish dissident groups as ''Operation Epic Fury'' rattles the pieces of the Middle East geostrategic chess game. From their mountainous heartland in Iran's northwestern border region, the Kurds who make up to 17% of the country's 93 million population, have a long history of resisting Tehran. Their opposition to the current regime dates back to the 1979 revolution. The CIA is working to arm Iranian Kurdish forces with the aim of fomenting a popular uprising in Iran, according to reports. Several Iranian Kurdish groups have released statements since the beginning of the war hinting at imminent action and urging Iranian military forces to defect, yet as the US-Israeli military operation grinds on without a day-after plan for Iran, the country faces the risk of fracturing along ethnic fault lines. Welcome to 'Dangerous Game: Kurdistan's Peshmerga'.
© zReportage.com Issue #1032 Story of the Week: Published: TUESDAY March 17, 2026: 'Dangerous Game: Kurdistan's Peshmerga' Photography by ZUMA Press represented Le Pictorium agency photographer Adrien Vautier: For Iran's Kurds, the US-Israeli war against the Islamist regime could be a pivotal moment in their history. The US has made an outreach to Iranian Kurdish dissident groups as ''Operation Epic Fury'' rattles the pieces of the Middle East geostrategic chess game. From their mountainous heartland in Iran's northwestern border region, the Kurds who make up to 17% of the country's 93 million population, have a long history of resisting Tehran. Their opposition to the current regime dates back to the 1979 revolution. The CIA is working to arm Iranian Kurdish forces with the aim of fomenting a popular uprising in Iran, according to reports. Several Iranian Kurdish groups have released statements since the beginning of the war hinting at imminent action and urging Iranian military forces to defect, yet as the US-Israeli military operation grinds on without a day-after plan for Iran, the country faces the risk of fracturing along ethnic fault lines. Welcome to 'Dangerous Game: Kurdistan's Peshmerga'.
Centre right: SERAN GARGULI (nom de guerre), Peshmerga commander and left Commander KERIM FARKHAPUR, also a Peshmerga in the mountains surrounding their camp in the border region with Iran. The Kurdish people are an ethnic minority group in the Middle East without an independent state.
© Adrien Vautier/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
Peshmerga fighters from the 'Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan' (PDKI) march throught the remote and complex terrain of the mountains near the border with Iran.
© Adrien Vautier/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
Peshmerga fighters from the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) chant songs while training in the Erbil region of Iraqi Kurdistan.
© Adrien Vautier/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
Peshmerga fighters from the ''Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan'' (PDKI) smoke cigarettes and talk together in their camp near the border with Iran.
© Adrien Vautier/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
Peshmerga fighters both men and women from the 'Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan' (PDKI) march in the mountains near the border with Iran. Kurdish forces, including PDKI peshmerga fighters, are prepared to take military action against Iran's regime but are awaiting critical external support.
© Adrien Vautier/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
Peshmerga fighters, men and women from the 'Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan'' (PDKI) in their camp near the border with Iran.
© Adrien Vautier/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
SHAHLA is a Peshmerga fighter from the PDKI stands on a hillside. She had to flee Iran with her daughter after being arrested and tortured by the Iranian authorities.
© Adrien Vautier/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
Young girls from families of PDKI members in the Peshmerga fighters Azizi Camp in Koy Sanjaq, where several hundred families live. The region continues to face stability and safety challenges.
© Adrien Vautier/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
MUSTAFA MAULOUDI, deputy secretary general of the Democratic Party Of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), at his headquarters in Koya. Kurdish forces, including PDKI peshmerga fighters, are prepared to take military action against Iran's regime but are awaiting critical external support.
© Adrien Vautier/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
Male and female Peshmerga fighters from the 'Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan' (PDKI) sit in a classroom during a 'history of democracy' class. In the front row is AJJAR, a young peshmerga fighter.
© Adrien Vautier/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
Around a hundred men from the PAK, a party of Iranian Kurdish peshmerga, carry the flag of Kurdistan while training in the Erbil region of Iraqi Kurdistan.
© Adrien Vautier/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
Peshmerga fighters from the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) cover thier faces and carry AK47 rifles while training in the Erbil region of Iraqi Kurdistan.
© Adrien Vautier/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
Around a hundred men from the PAK, a party of Iranian Kurdish peshmerga, are training in the Erbil region of Iraqi Kurdistan.
© Adrien Vautier/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
This camp belonging to the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), a group of Iranian Kurdish peshmerga, was attacked by an Iranian drone in early January 2026.
© Adrien Vautier/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
PDKI military cemetery in the Koy Sanjaq region which is used for members and Peshmerga fighters killed in conflicts.
© Adrien Vautier/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
