What's With The Military Violence In Iran?

There are stories from press outlets that, though fascinating, I hesitate to chat about because not enough is known to form opinions. This entry from Gateway Pundit is such a case. Gateway Pundit: More Clashes in NW Iran- 16 Guard Members Killed in Fighting GP's article is lengthy for the breadth of it's sources but simply reiterates the story's core many times. I'll lift excerpts from two sources GP used to give the gist...

Orumiyeh, 28 Feb - It is reported that, in a clash with guerrillas that broke out in the course of an operation conducted by the Iranian military in the Soma Biradost area near the city of Orumiyeh in East [Iranian] Kurdistan, at least 16 Village Guards and Revolutionary Guards have been killed, and three guerrillas have also lost their lives.
According to information obtained from Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK) sources, the Iranian military launched an operation against the guerrillas on Monday in the Soma Biradost area near Orumiyeh. It has been learned that the battle that broke out during the operation, in which hundreds of Revolutionary Guards and Village Guards took part, lasted for hours.

I read this and was reminded of the backing the Afghans received from the U.S. in their war against the Soviets. Well, I am allowed to hope! It's not necessarily us, though, it certainly could be the Iraqi Kurds themselves. That would confuse me because a few weeks ago the U.S. military busted up a supposed "diplomatic mission" of (what turned out to be) Quds commanders from Iran in Irbil, an Iraqi Kurdish city, that seemed to rile the heck out of the Shiites and the Kurds. I'm familiar with the Kurd political parties PUK and PKK, but I've not heard of the PJAK mentioned in Pundit's story. That could well be the source of my confusion. This version from IranFocus sorts that bit out for me...

An Iranian Kurdish rebel group said it had shot down the aircraft, the Brussels-based Kurdish news agency Firat said.
It said the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), an Iranian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which is fighting Turkey, shot down the helicopter with a shoulder-held missile, killing eight soldiers and capturing one.

What a hoot if it was Soviet made!

Various Iranian Kurdish rebel groups have fought a low-level conflict against Tehran for many decades claiming neglect and discrimination by central government.
Iran operates an ageing fleet of aircraft mostly dating from before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Still, I'd like to think that the U.S. intelligence and military are telling Ahmedinejad that we have some tricks up our sleeves and that we know the standing of the mullocracy is feeble to their subjects at this point in time. We may not be able to invade, we may not have the cohones even to bomb their oil facilities or nuclear sites, but we don't have to. Their unemployment rate is higher than the 11% the Iranian government claims. Unrest toward the bullying and failing Ayatollahs is very widespread especially with the non-Persian and non-Shiite population. Iran looks strong only to the ignorant. They could do some damage to be sure, but they have to be careful, they know how precarious their position can quickly get. This incident is one of a few that I'm aware of over the past couple of weeks. Whoever is behind these events is targeting the Revolutionary Guards. Another Iranian media source says...

A senior PKK terrorist commander was killed by IRGC forces in the northwestern city of Orumiyeh on Monday.
In continuation of a series of military operations recently carried out in Orumiyeh, West Azarbaijan province, by the Islamic Revolutionary Gurads Corps (IRGC) forces, to wipe out the separatist terrorists in the northwestern region of the country, a leading commander of the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) known as Dr. Afagh and two other terrorists were killed and several others were injured, BAZTAB reported from Orumiyeh.
Afagh, one of the three top PKK commanders in Iran, was active in several Iranian northwestern cities who is said to be responsible for the killings of the innocent civilians and Iranian military officers in the area.

Again, this could be a simple case of Iranian vs Iranian, but I think it's not likely. This region of the planet has more cloak and dagger double back antics than the uninvolved could possibly sort out without a guide. Which brings me back to my original sentence. How can we possibly form any opinions about how the military is handling the Iranians or the Syrians or Musharraf, for that matter? We haven't got a clue. That's my problem, but here is an example of someone who doesn't let the unseen and unknowable diplomatic machinations slow them down. I think that if the U.S. State Dept wants to tell the Iranian Diplomats to shove it over dinner, that's okay with me. That may not be what's going on, but I'm allowed to hope!