Iran Grants Iraq Few Days to Relocate Kurdish Fighters

The Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri (IRNA)
The Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri (IRNA)
TT

Iran Grants Iraq Few Days to Relocate Kurdish Fighters

The Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri (IRNA)
The Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri (IRNA)

The Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri, said his country is giving the Kurdistan region and Iraq a few days to disarm the Kurdish parties and expel them from all over Iraq.

Iranian media outlets reported Bagheri saying there is no place in the region for Iran's enemies, foreigners, or the opposing Kurdish parties.

He added that the armed separatist terrorist forces must be completely disarmed and expelled from all over Iraq.

Bagheri explained that it was planned to disarm these groups by September 19, but during the six-month deadline, these groups were slightly retreated from the borders.

He also mentioned that President Ebrahim Raisi asked the forces to be patient and granted a few days' extension, as reported by the Arab World News Agency.

Earlier, Raisi said during a military parade commemorating the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s that the Iraqi government has taken a positive step.

However, he requested the Iranian Chief of Staff to dispatch military delegations to the Kurdistan region to ensure the disarmament of the "separatist" Kurdish parties, whether at the borders with Iran, deep within the region, or any other location.

Iran had set September 19 as the final date for Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to take action against Kurdish parties opposed to Tehran, bases along the borders

The high committee for the implementation of the joint security agreement between Iraq and Iran announced on Tuesday the final evacuation of the bases of the Iranian opposition groups near the border.

The Radio Farda website cited Kurdish sources, saying that some of these parties detonated their headquarters near the Iranian border before leaving those sites, including the base of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Qoy Sanjaq.

Iraqi Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated that Baghdad has started implementing on-the-ground procedures to secure its border with Iran in coordination with the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Last September, the IRGC attacked with more than 70 surface-to-air missiles and dozens of booby-trapped drones in Iraqi Kurdistan, targeting several locations, including the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan.

At the time, observers said the attack was an attempt to divert attention from the protests that raged in the country for months after the death of the young Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, while the morality police were detaining her.

Iran blamed Western countries for being behind the protests and accused the Kurdish opposition parties of expanding them to Kurdish cities in western Iran.



Iran Foreign Minister Araqchi Arrives in Syrian Capital Damascus

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi looks on as he meets with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Lebanon, October 4, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi looks on as he meets with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Lebanon, October 4, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
TT

Iran Foreign Minister Araqchi Arrives in Syrian Capital Damascus

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi looks on as he meets with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Lebanon, October 4, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi looks on as he meets with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Lebanon, October 4, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi arrived in Damascus coming from Lebanon to discuss regional developments and bilateral relations with Syrian officials, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said on Saturday.
In Lebanon, Araqchi held meetings Friday with the country’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and speaker of parliament Nabih Berri, who is a close ally of Iran-backed Hezbollah.