Separatism is a dirty word in Iran. Persians—the largest ethnic group, which dominates the state’s institutions—have always been hypersensitive about the country’s ethnic makeup. What does this mean for the planned American-Kurdish offensive?

First, context.

Depending on the survey, ethnic Persians make up anywhere from roughly 48 to 60 percent of the population; the rest are minorities. The largest of those are the Azeris (estimated at 16–30 percent) and Kurds (roughly 7–10 percent). Both the Kurds and the Azeris briefly tasted independence under Soviet patronage in 1946, and large parts of these communities have never quite lost the hunger for it.