Iraq takes measures against Iranian Kurdish armed groups
The Iraqi Minster of Foreign Affairs, Fuad Hussein. Photo: AFP
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fuad Hussein, revealed on Tuesday that Iraq began to remove armed groups belonging to the Iranian Kurdish opposition from the border areas with Iran.
Hussein explained that his visit to Tehran scheduled for Wednesday will address the measures taken by Iraq in this regard to avoid a new escalation.
Last year, Iran bombarded more than once the sites of Iranian Kurdish opposition groups, whom Tehran accuses of participating in the protests that shook Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022, after she was arrested by the Iranian morality police.
The two countries concluded a security agreement last March, but Tehran demands that Iraq disarm Iranian Kurdish opposition groups by September 19 and evacuate them to camps.
In a joint press conference with the Austrian Foreign Minister, Alexander Schallenberg, Hussein stated that these groups have been in the Kurdistan region of Iraq for four or five decades.
Hussein elaborated that these groups have been moved from the border areas with Iran to remote camps in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
Without referring to the disarmament of these groups, the Iraqi Foreign Minister confirmed that Iraq is sticking to the agreement between the two parties, adding that he will deliver this message during his visit to Tehran.
The Iraqi Foreign Minister added that he expects the Iranian side not to attack the Kurdistan region of Iraq and preserve Iraq’s sovereignty.
In recent months, senior Iranian officials have called on Iraq to implement its obligations regarding the Iranian opposition groups.
Although several meetings have been held between officials from Iraqi Kurdistan and Iran, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has not commented on these measures.
In late August, the spokesperson of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Nasser Kanaani, said the date set to disarm and move opposition groups from the Iraqi-Iranian border would not be extended.