He left the Iraqi Army and joined the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) under the leadership of Mulla Mustafa Barzani.

He later transferred to the Bahdinan Region (Dahuk) where he served as Deputy Commander of the only artillery battalion in the 1st Army of Peshmerga.

After the Treaty of Algiers and Kurdish guerrilla's loss in the Second Iraqi–Kurdish War, Zebari and his family asked for political asylum in Iran and moved to Karaj near Tehran.

In 1991, Zebari was the commander of all Kurdish forces in the Dohuk and Mosul districts and participated in the 1991 uprising against the Baathist government in Iraq following the Gulf War.

During the Iraq War, he played a major role in the assistance of Coalition Forces operating within the Kurdistan region.