Yes this is a great point - though I'm not advocating for any consolidated religious power. I don't think Iran would really be a good fit for that anyway, as the political-religious combination is fairly recent and was an affect of major political polarization as the whole region started gaining power through oil trade.

The Kurds are an amazing and resilient group that have been an incredible ally to the west.

I don't know any group it's size who has been more historically oppressed, marginalized and killed with almost nobody paying any attention to it.