Iraq’s KRG leader says committed to deal to disarm Kurdish armed groups

By Haydar Karaalp

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AA) – Head of northern Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) Nechirvan Barzani said Wednesday the KRG is committed to an agreement with Iran to disarm Kurdish armed groups.

“The KRG is committed to the agreement reached between Baghdad and Tehran for the disarmament of anti-Iran parties and groups,” Barzani said in statements in Erbil.

“We do not want our region to be a source of threat to any neighboring country,” Barzani added.

In late August, Iran announced an agreement with the Iraqi government on “disarming and relocating” the “armed terrorist groups” in northern Iraq’s Kurdish region by Sept. 19.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said the Iraqi government has “committed to disarming the armed separatist terrorist groups” and evacuating them from the military barracks.

The issue has dominated official exchanges between the two sides in recent weeks with Iran insisting that it will not extend the deadline based on the deal.

On Tuesday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said the Iraqi government adheres to its security agreement with Iran and has taken necessary measures to relocate Kurdish groups that Iran has accused of carrying out terror attacks.

Iraq’s Constitution “does not allow any party to use Iraqi soil to attack neighboring countries," he said, adding that Iranian attacks in northern Iraq “are not acceptable”.

Iranian authorities have often protested what they call the presence of “terrorist groups” in Iraq’s Kurdish region, with Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) carrying out a series of drone and missile strikes late last year on their positions.

This January, Iran accused Kurdish groups in northern Iraq of carrying out an attack on a military facility in the central city of Isfahan, which was reportedly thwarted.

The incident came less than two months after the IRGC fired missiles and drones at targets in the Kurdish region, killing at least 13 people.

Last month, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, issued a stern warning over the “continued presence and activities of Kurdish groups” in the region bordering Iran.

He threatened that if the Iraqi authorities do not act, the Iranian military will resume its operations.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi