Mohamed Alizadeh is an Iranian Kurd who converted to Christianity and now lives in Iraqi Kurdistan. He works with a Christian non-governmental organization based in the U.S.

He has been a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDP-Iran) since 2011 and is involved with broadcasting. He says he was wounded in a bombing targeting the party’s headquarters in Iraq. The party accuses Iran of responsibility.

The KDP-Iran manifesto states that its “strategic objective is the right of self-determination for the Kurdish nation of Eastern Kurdistan within a democratic and federal Iran in the form of a Kurdistan republic. A voluntary and just union will be the foundation of the Kurdistan Republic’s relations’ with other national communities in Iran.”

Kurds refer to the Kurdish region of Iran as East Kurdistan. The manifesto says the party also supports self-determination for other ethnic groups in Iran. It identifies itself as a “secular organization” with “faith in the separation of the religion from the state.”

Alizadeh spoke with Ryan Mauro, Clarion Project’s Shillman Fellow and national security analyst.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3s1puE9c0M

Ryan Mauro is the-clarion-project.local/’s Shillman Fellow and national security analyst and an adjunct professor of counter-terrorism. Mauro is frequently interviewed on top-tier television and radio. To invite Ryan to speak please contact us.