Nowhere is this shift more visible than in East Kurdistan, where political awakening, grassroots organization, and armed resistance are converging into what many observers describe as a new phase of national struggle. At the center of this emerging moment is the Kurdistan Future Movement, known in Kurdish as Ainda—a movement that its supporters believe may be what Iranians and other oppressed nations inside Iran have long been searching for.

To better understand these developments, we conducted an in-depth interview with Rand Mariwani, Supervisor of the Kurdistan Future Movement, under the title:

A Regime Under Pressure, A Society in Motion

The Iranian regime has long ruled through fear—executions, mass imprisonment, censorship, and systematic violence against ethnic and political minorities. Yet today, that machinery of repression is showing signs of strain. Protests, sabotage, and organized resistance—particularly in Kurdish regions—have intensified, revealing a population no longer willing to accept submission as its fate.

Security analysts increasingly agree that the Islamic Republic is no longer facing isolated unrest, but a multi-front internal challenge driven by youth, marginalized nations, and organized movements with political vision.

The Kurdistan Future Movement has emerged within this context—not as a reactionary force, but as a strategic response to historical failure, political stagnation, and the urgent need for renewal.

Why the Kurdistan Future Movement Was Necessary

Q: As a start, why was it necessary to announce the Kurdistan Future Movement as a new political force in East Kurdistan? What risks or gaps do you see that this movement needs to fill?

Rand Mariwani:

“In fact, the Future Movement stems from a historical and objective necessity. We are in a period where traditional methods of struggle need to be renewed. There was a gap in political discourse and mass organization that could adapt to the rapid changes inside Iran and the international equations.”

He explains that the movement aims to act as a bridge between generations—combining the lived experience of decades of resistance with the energy and clarity of today’s youth uprisings.

“The Future Movement has come to formulate a national strategy that not only defends, but initiates the complete liberation of the Kurdish people in the east.”

State Terrorism and the Reality of Life Inside Iran

Q: You talk about the brutality of the Islamic Republic regime. How do you see the current situation of human rights and political life in the country?

Mariwani does not hesitate to describe the reality in stark terms:

“What is happening in Iran is not just oppression, but systematic state terrorism against nations. The Tehran regime has survived only through executions, torture and repression.”

Kurdistan, he notes, has become a testing ground for the regime’s violence—where Kurdish youth are executed or imprisoned daily, often on fabricated charges.

“This brutality is not a sign of strength, but of deep fear—fear of the change that our people and other nations have decided to make.”

Toward a United Front of Oppressed Nations

Q: What is the relationship of the Future Movement with other ethnic minorities in Iran such as Baloch, Ahwazi, Azeri and Turkmen?

The movement’s strategy is explicitly inclusive:

“Iran is a prison of nations. The defeat of this regime requires the unity of all these oppressed nations.”

Mariwani emphasizes cooperation with Baloch, Ahwazi, and other liberation movements, advocating for a future Iran based on national democratic federalism or the right to self-determination, where all peoples are equal partners—not subjects.

Diplomacy, Realism, and the Kurdish–Israeli Question

Q: A sensitive issue that is often discussed is the Kurdish-Israeli relationship. What is the Future Movement's vision for this relationship?

Mariwani responds with clarity and political realism:

“Relations with countries, including Israel, come within the framework of national interest. The Iranian regime is the greatest enemy of humanity and regional stability—it has no right to define who our friends are.”

He draws parallels between Kurds and Israelis as peoples confronting ideological extremism and existential threats.

“We will reach out to any force that supports the legitimate rights of the Kurdish people. Friendship with the democratic world is part of the active diplomacy of the Future Movement.”

A Message to Youth—and a Vision for the Future

Q: What is your message to young people looking for change?

“Our message is hope combined with work and organization. The Future Movement belongs to the youth—it lives in the streets, in resistance, in the hearts of the people.”

The movement’s guiding slogan, he explains, is:

“With the people, for the people, by the people.”

“The End of the Regime Is Near”

Q: What is your last word?

Mariwani concludes with a decisive message:

“The life of the Tehran regime is coming to an end. The region is moving toward a new geopolitics, and the Kurds must be a main character in that future.”

He asserts that the Kurdistan Future Movement exists to ensure that Kurdish rights are never again sacrificed in regional or international deals.

Why This Matters for the Middle East

For the security and stability of the Middle East, the survival of the Iranian regime is no longer a neutral issue. Its continued existence fuels terrorism, sectarian warfare, and state collapse across the region. Analysts increasingly argue that lasting peace is impossible while Tehran’s current system remains in power.

The rise of organized, democratic, and nationally grounded movements like the Kurdistan Future Movement offers a rare alternative: change from within, built on cooperation, legitimacy, and political vision.

For many Iranians—and for the region as a whole—this moment may represent not just resistance, but the beginning of a post-Islamic Republic future.