In a recent announcement, the foreign ministry of Iran revealed that an agreement has been made between Iran and Iraq to disarm and relocate “armed terrorist groups” in Iraq’s Kurdistan region next month. Nasser Kanaani, the ministry’s spokesperson, stated during a weekly briefing that Iraq has committed to disarming separatists and terrorist groups in its territory. These groups are expected to close their bases and be relocated to other undisclosed locations before September 19th.
Although the specific relocation destination was not specified by the spokesperson, a security advisor to the Iraqi prime minister confirmed on the condition of anonymity that Iran is demanding the disbandment of opposition groups in Iraqi Kurdistan and their subsequent placement in refugee camps. This request originated from the border security agreement signed by Iraq and Iran in Baghdad back in March.
Iran has consistently accused Iraq’s autonomous northern Kurdish region of providing safe haven to terrorist groups that carry out attacks against their country. Consequently, the Revolutionary Guards of Iran have repeatedly targeted Kurdish bases in response. In fact, in September of last year, the Revolutionary Guards launched missiles and drones at militant targets located within Iraq’s Kurdish region. This attack resulted in the death of 13 individuals, as stated by local authorities.
These attacks were strongly criticized by Iraq’s foreign ministry. However, Iran’s elite military and security force, the Revolutionary Guards, has made it clear that they will continue to target what they perceive as terrorists within the region.
At the time of reporting, the Iraqi foreign ministry had not provided a response to press inquiries regarding this agreement. Meanwhile, reporting on this story was done by Dubai Newsroom, Amina Ismail, and Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad. The article was edited by Nick Macfie and Alex Richardson.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
