Two IRGC-affiliated men killed in separate armed attacks in Piranshahr

Hengaw – Saturday, September 12, 2026

Two men affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Basij, identified as Eslam Kak Darvishi and Mullah Mohammad Nezhati, have been killed in separate armed attacks in Piranshahr County.

According to information obtained by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Eslam Kak Darvishi, a longtime IRGC member in Piranshahr, died from his injuries at a medical facility in the city in the early hours of September 12, 2026.

A group calling itself Khori Hiva (Sun of Hope) claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement accompanied by images. The group said it had targeted Darvishi because of his positions and activities in support of the Iranian government.

In posts on its Instagram account, the group also stated that Darvishi had named a street in the village of Kuper after Qassem Soleimani following Soleimani’s death and had written the slogan “Labbaik Ya Khamenei” (“We answer your call, Khamenei”) on the door of his home.

Darvishi, a native of Kuper village, had served as an IRGC commander in Marivan, Baneh and Piranshahr in previous years.

In a separate incident on the evening of September 8, Mullah Mohammad Nezhati, an active Basij member and cleric affiliated with the IRGC, was shot and killed by armed individuals riding a motorcycle. Nezhati served as the prayer leader of Chiyaneh village in Piranshahr.

The IRGC’s Shohada provincial command in Urmia confirmed Nezhati’s death in a statement, describing him as a cleric who worked with the “Basij of Professors, Seminary Students and Clerics.”

Iranian state media attributed the attack to Kurdish opposition parties. However, no Kurdish political party or armed group active in the region had claimed responsibility for Nezhati’s killing.