Qazi Muhammad officially announced the formation of the Republic of Mahabad on the 22nd of January 1946. The state encompassed Mahabad plus adjacent cities including Bukan, Oshnavieh, Piranshahr and Naghadeh.
The Soviet commander at Mīāndoāb summoned Kurdish chieftains to Baku where they formed the Democratic Party of Kurdistan in late September 1945. Qazi Muhammad, head of a family of religious jurists, was elected chairman of this organization.
Iranian forces secured Mahabad without major fighting on the 15th of December 1946 and closed down the Kurdish printing press immediately. All Kurdish books found were burned by occupying troops and teaching the Kurdish language was banned.
Economic aid and military assistance from the Soviet Union disappeared after Western pressure forced Soviet withdrawal. This loss of resources caused townspeople and tribal leaders to develop a large divide as their alliance crumbled under resource shortages.
Qazi Muhammad was hanged in Mahabad for treason charges on the 31st of March 1947. The war council had told him they would resist if Iranian forces entered the region on the 5th of December 1946.