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Tehran courts Kurds as Washington amps up rhetoric against Iran

Iranian Kurdish opposition groups and Iran are conducting talks in Oslo, in what some see as an Iranian bid to safeguard against Kurdish collaboration with the United States.
The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan's (PDKI) armed wing, known as the Iranian peshmerga, located in the border near Iran continue their armed struggle against the Iranian government. They consider themselves Socialist Democrats The group practices daily training in the mountains and a nearby trading facility. The PDKi are an armed group who are trying to attain national rights within Iran. As of today Kurds who live in Iran continue under the Iranian government to have the freedom and rights that othe
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Iranian Kurdish opposition groups will meet with Iranian government officials in Oslo for a third round of talks in August, Al-Monitor has learned. The meetings, to be mediated by a Norwegian organization devoted to conflict resolution, mark the first time the Iranian regime has sat at the same table with multiple Kurdish groups since the 1979 Islamic Revolution,  p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} and the first time that it has met with any Kurdish party in the presence of foreign facilitators.

"The talks should not be confused with negotiations,” said an official from one of four Iranian Kurdish opposition parties participating in the meetings, which are being brokered by the Norwegian Center for Conflict Resolution, known as NOREF. “The process is a continuation of seeking to lay a foundation, a framework for substantive negotiations, more of a sizing up of mutual intentions to gauge whether they are sincere. I don’t believe for a second that the Iranian regime is sincere.” The official echoed sentiments aired by other Iranian Kurdish opposition sources, who all spoke on condition of anonymity due to the delicate nature of the subject.

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