Iranian nationalities have played an integral part in the country’s century-long anti-authoritarian, anti-imperialist, and pro-democracy movements. The Kurds of Iran have certainly been an integral part of this struggle, and they have largely framed their demands for recognition of their sociopolitical and cultural rights within the broader context of a democratic and decentralized Iran. The purpose of this paper is to examine factors that have inhibited the realization of Kurdish demands since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979. In particular, the paper seeks to analyze the role played by the Iranian Kurds in the reformist and pro-democracy developments in the country. Finally, the paper will examine the pros and cons of federalism, which many Kurdish groups have promoted, in the context of a more democratic and inclusive Iran. I will rely on both secondary sources and primary sources (including the Kurdish ones) to analyze factors that have impeded Kurdish ascendancy in contemporary Iran and place my discussion in the context of the ascendant Kurdish factor in the politics of Iraq, Syria and Turkey.