The Iranian Revolutionary Guard is mobilizing forces along the border area between Iraq and Iran in the Kurdistan Region, suggested information from the Sulaymaniyah province in the Kurdistan Region.
The development comes just three days before the expiration of the deadline set by Tehran for the disarmament of separatist Iranian groups present in the Kurdistan Region.
Iran had recently announced its agreement with Iraq to close down the separatists’ headquarters and disarm them by no later than September 19.
The agreement stipulates the closure of military facilities belonging to the groups in northern Iraq.
A source closely associated with Iranian opposition parties informed Asharq Al-Awsat that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard has amassed a substantial force along the border strip with the Kurdistan Region.
The move appears to be an effort to exert pressure on both Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region to expedite the implementation of the agreement.
According to the source, who requested anonymity, Iraqi border guards have also deployed along the area to enforce the agreement.
The source did not rule out the possibility of the Revolutionary Guard launching attacks within Iraqi territory, whether by missiles or drones, as they have frequently done against anti-Tehran parties in Iraq.
Moreover, the source said it was impossible to predict whether Iranian forces would enter the Iraqi territories, but it was a means to pressure Baghdad to follow through with agreement.
Ghayath Al-Sourji, a leader in the Kurdistan National Union Party, emphasized in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat that while the Iranian build-up along the border is evident, it may also be connected to “Iran's domestic affairs.”
Tehran is bracing for the one-year anniversary of the killing of Iranian Kurdish young woman Mahsa Amini by Iranian police, raising the potential for new protests in Kurdish areas within Iran.
