As the pace of anti-government demonstrations in Iran appeared to ease on Friday, attention has turned to a significant factor that could shape the nation’s future: its diverse ethnic minority groups, which constitute nearly half of the population.
Shukriya Bradost, an esteemed scholar specializing in Iran’s minority communities, who hails from the Kurdish region in Iran, shared insights with Fox News Digital. She emphasized that, “Since the establishment of the Islamic constitution in 1979, ethnic groups have opposed it and have been advocating for their rights for the past 47 years.”
In a recent study by Bradost, it is highlighted that despite initial doubts and concerns among ethnic groups, protests have ignited across various provinces in Iran. The demographic breakdown of the nation shows that Persians account for 51% of the population, while Azeris make up 24%. Kurds represent approximately 8% to 17%, with Arab and Baluch communities comprising 3% and 2%, respectively.
A photograph, acquired by The Associated Press, depicts Iranians participating in an anti-government rally in Tehran on Friday, January 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
Bradost’s analysis also states, “Iran, with a population of about 93 million, was constructed around a centralized national identity rather than embracing ethnic diversity.”
She further remarked, “The regime is on the brink of collapse. It will persist in its struggle until the very end, as long as Khamenei remains in power.”
Reports from various groups say the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic, Ali Khamenei, ordered the slaughter of thousands of protesters — the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists in Iran reported 2,571 deaths from the protests, while leading Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi told Bret Baier on “Special Report” on Monday that a minimum of 12,000 people are dead.
Sardar Pashaei, the president of Hiwa, a nonprofit that organizes a new generation of Kurdish activists for human rights and democratic change, told Fox News Digital that, “Ethnic minorities make up nearly half of Iran’s population, and no meaningful political transition can succeed without them. Kurds, in particular, have decades of experience resisting authoritarian rule and have consistently paid the highest price through repression, imprisonment, and loss of life. Their role is not symbolic — it is structural to any real challenge to the Islamic Republic.”
Iranians gather while blocking a street during a protest in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 9, 2026. (MAHSA / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)
Pashaei, who won a Greco-Roman wrestling world championship title for Iran and coached the country’s elite Greco-Roman team, added, “Beyond protest, ethnic minorities — especially Kurds — are crucial to ensuring that one form of tyranny is not replaced by another. Kurdish political culture strongly favors democratic values, pluralism and women’s participation, which is why there is almost no support among them for monarchy or lifetime rule.”
He noted that “In Syria and Iraq, Kurdish-administered areas became among the most stable after the collapse of dictatorships, and Kurdish regions in Iran would likely be among the most stable after the fall of the Islamic regime. Despite this, Kurds continue to face discrimination both inside Iran and within opposition politics, even though a democratic future can only be built through a broad, inclusive coalition.”
Khalil Kani Sanani, a spokesperson for the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), told Fox News Digital that there are two provinces to keep an eye on. “Today, Kermanshah and Ilam are prepared to play that role. The organizations of the Kurdistan Freedom Party and the units of the National Army of Kurdistan in the cities of those two provinces are both managing the uprising process and carrying out resistance and legitimate defense.”
The grave of Mahsa Amini in her hometown of Saqqez, Iran. Photo obtained by Fox News Digital. (Fox News Digital)
He noted the last major uprising began in those regions. “This time as well, after Tehran’s suppression, the cities of Kurdistan became centers of uprising against the regime, and from Kurdistan the spirit of revolt has spread toward Tehran and across all of Iran.”
The “Jina uprising” he referred to was known as “The Women, Life, Freedom” movement that unfolded across Iran after the Islamic Republic’s morality police murdered Mahsa (Jina) Amini, a young Iranian-Kurdish woman, in September 2022 for failing to properly wear her hijab.
Kani Sanani said “The operations of our units in Kermanshah, Ilam, Lorestan, and Bakhtiari against the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] forces have given great hope to the people and raised public morale. If the airspace of those regions were to be closed to the regime’s aircraft, our forces would rapidly take control of all the cities in those provinces, and from there we would move with a force of 100,000 people to assist the residents of Tehran.”
Siamand Moeini, who is on the leadership council of The Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), told Fox News Digital the “The current government has no capacity or program for internal democratic reforms. Therefore, the best alternative is a joint struggle to change it and establish a democratic system that includes participation from all peoples of Iran.”
In this photo taken by an individual not employed by The Associated Press and obtained by the AP outside Iran, Iranians protest the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was detained by the morality police, in Tehran, Oct. 1, 2022. (The Associated Press)
He added that “Iran’s current centralized system fails to represent the will of its people. Over the past century, authoritarian governance and central state repression have resulted in the suffering and deaths of thousands — policies that the people of Iran have consistently rejected. In the current circumstances, we propose a democratic self-governance alternative for all regions of Iran, especially for Kurdistan, which can adequately address the needs of the Kurdish population.”
According to Moeini, “Iran’s future system of governance must be grounded in the broad participation and cooperation of all its peoples, laying the foundation for a truly sustainable and inclusive democracy.”
