PDKI leader Mustafa Hijri addressed the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington DC on 11 June, 2018. A transcript of Hijri’s speech follows.<\/p>\n
Due to a long tradition of state centralization in combination with the decisive role of the ideology of the Islamic Republic of Iran,\u00a0the political space in contemporary Iran \u2014 which\u00a0is a multinational and multi-religious country \u2014 is\u00a0reserved for the Shiite faith, while other\u00a0communities and identities\u00a0are excluded\u00a0and suppressed.<\/p>\n
Exclusionary policies and systematic discrimination of other communities\u00a0have become\u00a0legalized in the constitution of the Islamic Republic. For example, according to the constitution, only Shiites can become president of the\u00a0country. This means that Kurds,\u00a0who are Sunni or followers of the pre-Islamic Kurdish religion of Yari, cannot become president of the country. However, all Kurds, including those who are Shiite, are oppressed by the Iranian state because of their Kurdish national identity.<\/p>\n
National oppression in Iran\u00a0rests on\u00a0two pillars. The first is the\u00a0current\u00a0political system and existing power relations\u00a0of domination and subordination. The second is the ideological justification of national oppression by the so-called intellectuals who serve the interests of the Islamic Republic.<\/p>\n
Since the revolution of 1979,\u00a0the\u00a0so-called intellectuals and officials of the Islamic Republic have used the term\u00a0\u201ctribal regions\u201d\u00a0for those regions of Iran populated by the non-Persian nations.\u00a0\u00a0Following the revolution, the Islamic\u00a0Republic\u00a0once again divided Iran between\u00a0a\u00a0\u201ccenter\u201d and \u201cperipheral regions\u201d. In\u00a0this respect, there has been\u00a0continuity in state policy of national oppression\u00a0following the 1979 revolution \u2014which\u00a0was a revolution of the peoples of Iran to end dictatorship and national oppression.<\/p>\n
National oppression has many aspects that are interrelated. One aspect is the denial of the national identity of\u00a0the\u00a0Kurds, Arabs, Azerbaijanis, Balocuh, and Turkmen. Related to this denial is\u00a0the\u00a0denial of\u00a0national\u00a0rights \u2013 such as the right of education in Kurdish, Arabic, Azeri, Balouchi\u00a0and Turkish, or the right to self-government or autonomy. Another aspect is poverty and economic underdevelopment.<\/p>\n
In my talk, I\u00a0will\u00a0focus on\u00a0Iranian Kurdistan.<\/p>\n
Iranian Kurdistan is a region that is heavily militarized and securitized by the Iranian state. The cities and towns of Iranian Kurdistan are marked by\u00a0a large number of\u00a0checkpoints\u00a0and\u00a0military garrisons.\u00a0This situation has, among other things, created enormous obstacles and problems for investment in Iranian Kurdistan. This is the case even for those Kurds who would like to invest in their region.<\/p>\n
During the previous Pahlavi regime as well as under the Islamic Republic, Iranian Kurdistan has been subject to policies of deliberate geographical fragmentation through administrative\u00a0divisions.\u00a0The aim has been to prevent the Kurds from forming a unified administrative regional government to protect vital Kurdish national interests\u00a0\u2014\u00a0such as the preservation of the Kurdish language, but also social and economic development\u00a0in Iranian Kurdistan.<\/p>\n
As a result of this long-standing policy by the Iranian state towards Iranian Kurdistan, economic underdevelopment\u00a0and\u00a0enormous social problems\u00a0and human\u00a0suffering have become the hallmark of all the Kurdish provinces in Iran, of which only one is officially\u00a0called\u00a0Kurdistan\u00a0by the state.<\/p>\n
Businessmen outside of Kurdistan rather than local businessmen have in most cases established the few factories that exist in Iranian Kurdistan,\u00a0and\u00a0their\u00a0employees are usually\u00a0non-Kurds. Lack of infrastructure has diminished the geographical reach of such companies.\u00a0Not only has the Iranian\u00a0state not made investments in Iranian\u00a0Kurdistan\u00a0or created\u00a0job opportunities for the\u00a0Kurdish people,\u00a0but\u00a0the natural resources of Kurdistan are exported to the central parts of Iran.<\/p>\n
Allow me to give you some facts and figures regarding the economic exploitation of Iranian Kurdistan, but also data on economic underdevelopment in the Kurdish\u00a0provinces, as well as\u00a0their social consequences.<\/p>\n
The gold of\u00a0Zarashoran\u00a0in Hawshar, located in the\u00a0Uremia province, which\u00a0is estimated to have\u00a0the largest gold\u00a0reserves in Iran, is appropriated to the central parts of the country. The precious stones of Khane and the steel of Saqez are similarly appropriated to the central parts of Iran.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, demining in the two important Kurdish provinces of Ilam and Kermashan is still to be done\u00a0although the\u00a0Iran-Iraq war ended\u00a0in 1988. In addition to human casualties, land mines have deprived the\u00a0population\u00a0of these two provinces of\u00a0the opportunity to cultivate their lands.<\/p>\n
The province of Kurdistan, which has 18.8 percent of the population of the so-called \u201cperipheral regions\u201d, is one of the most vulnerable provinces in Iranian Kurdistan.\u00a0The situation in this Kurdish province had become so severe\u00a0that\u00a0the World Bank allocated funds\u00a0for\u00a0it between 2004 and 2010.\u00a0In spite of its wealth in natural resources and its potential in terms of industrial development, the province of Kurdistan is one of the most underdeveloped provinces.<\/p>\n
Naturally, the economic underdevelopment of Iranian Kurdistan has resulted in popular discontent. Even some measures by the government in recent years have backfired, and have in fact worsened the situation. Consider the following examples. A factory for steel production was set up in Qorwa. The factory was eventually\u00a0shut\u00a0down, because its managers and most of the workers had come from\u00a0outside of Kurdistan, but also\u00a0because it was mismanaged. The establishment of the petrochemical factory in Mahabad has not only failed to bring any benefits for the inhabitants of the city, but even the lower levels of the staff that have been hired by the government are non-Kurds.<\/p>\n
The Iranian state\u2019s deliberate policy of keeping Iranian Kurdistan in a state of economic underdevelopment has forced many Kurds to migrate to the central parts of Iran in search of job opportunities. For example, more than 50 thousand Kurds migrate annually from the province of Kermashan. In the province of Ilam, the migration of the youth\u00a0has\u00a0created a demographic imbalance, in that the number of elderly has risen substantially.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile,\u00a0inhabitants of the cities and towns that border Iraqi\u00a0Kurdistan have in desperation resorted to a practice known as \u201ckolbari\u201d in Kurdish, which means that unemployed Kurds carry goods on their backs from Iraqi Kurdistan to Iranian Kurdistan. Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guards\u00a0often\u00a0either confiscate their goods or shoot the Kurdish porters.<\/p>\n
State policy of economic development and long-term economic planning in Iran thus reveal\u00a0that\u00a0such policies are based\u00a0on a center-periphery relationship, which\u00a0in turn\u00a0has resulted in systematic discrimination of the non-Persian regions. The marginalization of the Kurdish provinces are consequently a result of the ideology\u00a0of the Islamic Republic\u00a0and existing political system in Iran.<\/p>\n
The center-periphery relationship has resulted in the concentration of all\u00a0sources\u00a0of power in the central parts of Iran. The state\u2019s total control over the so-called peripheral regions have also prevented civil society organizations and the private sector to operate freely in the economic, political and, civic realms. Any kind of activity in civil society has to have the consent of the central government.\u00a0This kind of centralism and total control over all aspects of society has\u00a0created obstacles for investment and economic development.<\/p>\n
Iranian Kurdistan has a beautiful nature and\u00a0a\u00a0great potential to become a hub for tourism in Iran.\u00a0 However, centralization of decision-making as well as the securitization and militarization of Iranian Kurdistan have deprived\u00a0Iranian Kurdistan of such opportunity. Instead, the Iranian regime has multiplied the number of dams in Kurdistan, not for the purpose of strengthening agriculture and tourism in Kurdistan, but rather for the purpose of transferring Kurdistan\u2019s water resources to the central parts of Iran. Thus,\u00a0economic\u00a0development in the central parts of Iran is\u00a0promoted on the basis of the natural resources of Kurdistan, as well as at the expense of Kurdistan.<\/p>\n
This reality of economic exploitation and economic underdevelopment, which are the result of policies of centralization and denial of Kurdish rights, manifests itself in the social problems and human suffering in Kurdistan. Consider, for example, the following\u00a0data, which\u00a0have been gathered from government sources:<\/p>\n
–\u00a0Among\u00a0the\u00a010 cities\u00a0in\u00a0Iran\u00a0with\u00a0the highest rate of unemployment, 6 of them are\u00a0in Iranian Kurdistan;<\/p>\n
–\u00a0The Kurdish province of Kermashan has the highest rate of unemployment in Iran; one-fourth of its inhabitants are unemployed;<\/p>\n
–\u00a0Unemployment in the cities of the province of Kurdistan is above 60%;<\/p>\n
–\u00a0Kurdistan has the highest number of unemployed among university graduates;<\/p>\n
–\u00a0Poverty\u00a0and unemployment have resulted in the rise of divorce rates and the disintegration of families;<\/p>\n
–\u00a0The social consequences of poverty are perhaps most severe in the Kurdish province of Ilam, which has the highest rate of suicide in Iran, as well as the highest rate of self-immolation in the world;<\/p>\n
–\u00a0On average, every month 6 Kurdish porters are killed, while 16 others are wounded by Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guards.<\/p>\n
In addition to the widespread poverty and enormous social problems in Iranian Kurdistan, any kind of dissent or civil resistance is confronted with massive violence by Iranian military and paramilitary forces. There is systematic oppression of the Kurdish people\u00a0in Iranian Kurdistan by the Iranian state.<\/p>\n
Kurdish activists who protest against the militarization and securitization of Kurdistan, or who demand Kurdish rights, such as the right of education in their mother tongue (which is allowed according to the constitution) are charged with \u201cmoharab\u201d (which means enmity against God), \u201cseparatism\u201d, \u201ccollaboration with foreign powers\u201d and so on, and they are sentenced\u00a0to\u00a0long prison-terms, tortured or even executed.\u00a0For example, Kurds are overrepresented among those political prisoners that are executed in Iran<\/p>\n
In addition to the\u00a0oppressive policies of the Islamic Republic inside Iran, the\u00a0Islamist\u00a0regime is also a major factor\u00a0behind the\u00a0instability, extremism,\u00a0sectarian violence and wars that plague the Middle East. The regime\u2019s quest for domination of the Middle East, as is evident in its meddling of the internal affairs of many countries in the region as well as in its support for various extremist and terrorist groups, has resulted in the suffering of millions of people across the region, including deliberate attempts to destroy infrastructure and change the demography\u00a0of some countries.\u00a0Iran\u2019s efforts to change the demography\u00a0of Syria have been documented, but Iran has pursued a similar policy in Iraq.<\/p>\n
The oppressive and discriminatory policies of the Islamic Republic\u00a0in Iran\u00a0and its meddling and destructive role in the Middle East are interlinked and cannot be separated from each other, since its domestic and foreign policies are based\u00a0on\u00a0the regime\u2019s ideology and will remain so in the future.<\/p>\n
In the past, the international\u00a0community as well as human rights organizations have\u00a0criticized the Iranian regime\u2019s policies, and the regime has even faced international sanctions. These sanctions were intended to bring about a change in the policies of the Islamic Republic. However, insofar as change has happened in Iran\u2019s policies, it has been for the worse. As we have witnessed in recent years, Iran\u2019s oppressive policies at home and its destructive behavior in the Middle East have continued unabated and even with vigor.<\/p>\n
The reason for this is that the regime not only believes it is doing the right thing in accordance with its ideology of Islamist rule at home and exporting the Islamic revolution abroad, but that it in fact entitled to weaken other governments in the world, in particular governments in the Muslim world that are not submissive to the Islamic Republic or who do not\u00a0share its ideology.<\/p>\n
Therefore, wherever\u00a0Iran can find an ideological current or groups that share\u00a0its ideology, it will support them in every way and encourages them to sow discord, instability and sectarian conflict. Lebanese Hezbollah is a case in point.<\/p>\n
We as the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan,\u00a0based on our knowledge about and experience in dealing with Islamic Republic,\u00a0both in the form of armed struggle and negotiations, are convinced that\u00a0the\u00a0only way\u00a0to bring an end to\u00a0dictatorship in Iran\u00a0as well as\u00a0an end to Iran\u2019s destructive behavior in the Middle East, is through regime change.<\/p>\n
Other than that, any attempt to persuade or compel the regime to \u201cchange its policies\u201d\u00a0will\u00a0not only\u00a0prove futile, but\u00a0will\u00a0also\u00a0be\u00a0costly\u00a0in the long term.\u00a0In this regard, I want to remind you that our former leader, Dr. Ghassemlou, met Iranian officials in good faith to negotiate the terms of self-rule for Iranian Kurdistan on July 13, 1989, in Vienna. However, the Iranian officials\u00a0assassinated\u00a0Dr. Ghassemlou and his aides at the negotiation table.<\/p>\n
The nuclear deal with Iran in 2015 by the P5+1 clearly shows, contrary to general expectations,\u00a0that the lifting of international sanctions on the Islamic Republic and the financial means that the Iranian regime acquired\u00a0thanks to the deal\u00a0did not result in a moderation of the regime\u00a0with respect to the\u00a0violation of human rights;\u00a0or an improvement in the economic\u00a0situation of ordinary Iranians;\u00a0or\u00a0a moderation\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0regime\u2019s destructive policies in the Middle East. On the contrary. Thanks to increased financial means, the Iranian regime increased its support for various extremist and terrorist organizations in the Middle East, increased its meddling in the internal affairs of regional countries, and created more instability and sectarian violence\u00a0in the region.<\/p>\n
This has continued even after the defeat of ISIS.\u00a0We have all witnessed how Iran in recent weeks is\u00a0openly\u00a0attempting to influence the formation of government in Iraq following parliamentary elections in that country. This is a clear violation of the popular will of Iraqi citizens and the democratic process in that country.<\/p>\n
Against that backdrop, we believe that the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal for the purpose of containing\u00a0the Islamic Republic of Iran\u00a0in a comprehensive manner is warranted\u00a0and we hope that the rest of the international community will support the United States in that\u00a0effort. But we also call for further steps in that regard.<\/p>\n
Most important from the point of view of liberty and democracy in Iran, we call on the United States and the international community to support the waves of popular discontent and civil resistance to the Islamic Republic across Iran\u00a0that\u00a0have gained momentum since last year. The United States in particular has a responsibility not to\u00a0abandon the Iranian people\u00a0in the face of the regime\u2019s\u00a0brutal\u00a0crackdown on peaceful resistance.<\/p>\n
Our party, which\u00a0enjoys popular support in Iranian Kurdistan and\u00a0has struggled against\u00a0two\u00a0dictatorships for more than 70 years \u2014 that is,\u00a0both the previous Pahlavi regime and the current Islamist regime \u2014 has\u00a0plans to coordinate\u00a0its\u00a0struggle with other forces all over\u00a0Iran to bring about a democratic government.<\/p>\n
To this end,\u00a0we have since 2005 taken part in the creation of the Congress of Nationalities for a Federal Iran,\u00a0and\u00a0for almost a year we have in a joint effort with other Kurdish organizations established\u00a0the Cooperation Center of the Kurdish Organizations in Iranian Kurdistan. This will enable us to join forces against the dictatorship in Iran.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PDKI leader Mustafa Hijri addressed the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington DC on 11 June, 2018. A transcript of Hijri’s speech follows. Due to a long tradition of state centralization in combination with the decisive role of the ideology […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5265,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[45,54],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/img_2968.jpg?fit=1136%2C640&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p12yuy-1mW","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6116,"url":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/mustafa-hijri-in-a-interview-with-la-repubblica\/","url_meta":{"origin":5266,"position":0},"title":"Mustafa Hijri in a interview with La Repubblica","author":"Ali","date":"October 14, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Mustafa Hijri in a interview with Gianni Vernetti, from Italian newspaper La Repubblica: Vernetti: Masha Amini, a Kurdish Iranian girl from the city of Saqiz was murdered by the morality police in Teheran for wearing her veil in an \u201cinappropriate\u201d way. Following the killing of Masha Amini a new uprising\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Latest2"","block_context":{"text":"Latest2","link":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/category\/latest2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Hijri_inter.jpg?fit=1055%2C587&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Hijri_inter.jpg?fit=1055%2C587&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Hijri_inter.jpg?fit=1055%2C587&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Hijri_inter.jpg?fit=1055%2C587&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Hijri_inter.jpg?fit=1055%2C587&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4501,"url":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/mustafa-hijri-iran-attempts-to-create-instability-and-conflict-all-around-the-region\/","url_meta":{"origin":5266,"position":1},"title":"Mustafa Hijri: \u201cIran attempts to create instability and conflict all around the region\u201d","author":"akamr","date":"July 1, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"In an interview with Seth Frantzman of the Algemeiner Mustafa Hijri, PDKI\u2019s leader, discusses PDKI\u2019s view on Iran\u2019s role in the region Iran and the Kurdish nation\u2019s struggle in Iran. Below is an excerpt of the interview: Mustafa Hijri, the General Secretary of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Interviews"","block_context":{"text":"Interviews","link":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/category\/mustafa-hijri\/interviews-mustafa-hijri\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Hidgri-Iran.jpg?fit=500%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4323,"url":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/mustafa-hijri\/","url_meta":{"origin":5266,"position":2},"title":"Mustafa Hijri","author":"akamr","date":"August 29, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Mr. Mustafa Hijri is the current leader of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI). Mr. Hijri was born in 1945 in Nagahadeh. He graduated from the Teachers\u2019 College of Agriculture in Urmiye in 1963 and took up a post as a secondary school teacher in the city of Saghez.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Learn More About PDKI"","block_context":{"text":"Learn More About PDKI","link":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/category\/learnpdki\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Mustafa-Hijri.png?fit=576%2C470&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Mustafa-Hijri.png?fit=576%2C470&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Mustafa-Hijri.png?fit=576%2C470&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5941,"url":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/statement-on-the-occasion-of-international-mother-language-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":5266,"position":3},"title":"Statement on the Occasion of International Mother Language Day","author":"Ali","date":"March 4, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Mustafa Hijri, the current leader of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) issued a statement on the occasion of International Mother Language Day. In his statement, Hijri regards the Kurdish language as a central component of the Kurdish national identity and stresses that it is why the Islamic Republic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Latest"","block_context":{"text":"Latest","link":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/category\/latest\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/photo-2018-05-13-17-30-40.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/photo-2018-05-13-17-30-40.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/photo-2018-05-13-17-30-40.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/photo-2018-05-13-17-30-40.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/photo-2018-05-13-17-30-40.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3790,"url":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/pdki-leader-meets-u-s-senators-and-members-of-congress\/","url_meta":{"origin":5266,"position":4},"title":"PDKI Leader Meets U.S. Senators and Members of Congress","author":"akamr","date":"March 24, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Mustafa Hijri, leader of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), visited Germany at the end of May and met with German officials. Mr. Hiri is currently in the United States and has held meetings with members of U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, U.S. senators and human rights organizations\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Foreign Relation Activities & Reports"","block_context":{"text":"Foreign Relation Activities & Reports","link":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/category\/foreign-relation\/activities-reports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Hidjri-visits-Germany.png?fit=620%2C284&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Hidjri-visits-Germany.png?fit=620%2C284&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pdki.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Hidjri-visits-Germany.png?fit=620%2C284&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6802,"url":"https:\/\/pdki.org\/english\/interview-with-pdki-leader-mustafa-hijri\/","url_meta":{"origin":5266,"position":5},"title":"Interview with PDKI Leader Mustafa Hijri","author":"Ali","date":"December 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"In this interview with Mr. Kamal Chomani, Editor-in-Chief of the Amargi, PDKI leader Mustafa Hijri argues that the Middle East entered a new phase on October 7, 2023. This phase has significantly weakened Iran\u2019s regional power. 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