The Iraqi constitution prohibits foreign entities from using Iraqi soil to conduct attacks on neighbouring countries, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, of the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), warned on Tuesday during a press conference in Baghdad.
The foreign minister said that he expects Iran to respect Iraq’s sovereignty by refraining from taking violent action against Iranian-Kurdish opposition groups in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Hussein reiterated that steps have been taken to relocate the opposition groups deeper into the Kurdistan region, away from the Iran-Iraq border.
The statement from the Iraqi Foreign Minister – who has Kurdish roots – came just a day before his planned visit to Tehran, coinciding with the looming September 19 disarmament deadline imposed by Iran, and agreed by Baghdad, on the opposition groups.
For an extended period, Iran has insisted that Iraq must expel or disarm Kurdish opposition groups located in Iraq’s semi-autonomous northern Kurdistan region. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have conducted a series of operations targeting these bases.
Last month, the Iranian Foreign Ministry revealed that Baghdad had committed to supporting the disarmament of Iranian-Kurdish opposition groups within Iraq’s Kurdistan Region. The agreement between the two nations stipulated the closure of opposition bases and a relocation to alternative sites by 19 September.
Iranian officials cautioned that a failure to meet this deadline could lead to a resumption of attacks against dissident groups within Iraqi Kurdistan, a strategy employed until the end of last year.
The Prime Minister of Iraq disclosed last Friday that Iraq had allocated $200 million for a comprehensive strategy aimed at addressing and disarming opposition groups.
In a noteworthy development, Bafel Talabani, the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), was engaged in talks with Iranian officials during his visit to Tehran. Given the PUK’s historical ties with both Tehran and Iranian-backed Shia groups in Iraq, these discussions garnered considerable attention in anticipation of their relevance to the disarmament agreement.
However, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani clarified on Monday that Bafel’s visit to Tehran was part of a bilateral dialogue and cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. He categorically stated that the visit had “absolutely nothing to do with the security agreement between Baghdad and Tehran”. Kanani also ruled out any possibility of extending the deadline for Iranian Kurdish opposition groups based in the Kurdistan Region.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani hosted Iranian Ambassador to Iraq Mohammed Kazim Al Sadiq. However, during their discussions, there was no explicit mention of the ongoing disarmament issue concerning the opposition groups.
