Time running out for KRG to disarm, relocate terrorists, Iran cautions

The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry warned the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government that a deadline of September 19 for action against anti-Iran terrorists won’t be extended.

Speaking to reporters at a weekly press conference on Monday, Nasser Kanaani said the government of Iraq has undertaken, under an agreement with Iran, to disarm the armed terrorist groups on Iraqi soil, throw them out of their military bases, and relocate them to camps determined by Iraq until the end of the current Iranian month of Shahrivar (September 19), Tasnim reports.

He noted that the government of Baghdad has communicated the decision to the KRG officials for implementation, warning that the deadline of September 19 will not be extended by any means.

Describing the relations between Iran and Iraq as friendly and based upon good neighborliness, Kanaani said the presence of terrorists in the Iraqi Kurdistan region is a dark stain on the bilateral ties.

“We expect this dark stain to be removed. Security matters to Iran,” he stressed.

Last month, Iran’s highest-ranking military commander cautioned the Iraqi government that its failure to meet a deadline of September for action against hostile armed groups in its northern regions will result in a fresh round of Iranian military strikes against them.

“Armed secessionist groups exist in northern Iraq which cause insecurity at our borders,” Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri said.

Lauding the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Ground Force for the “effective missile and drone attacks” against the terrorist groups in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region with the purpose of protecting Iran’s security, the general said the strikes have been suspended after the Baghdad government undertook to disarm those groups and stop their activities by the Iranian month of Shahrivar (August 23 – September 22).

The general noted that Iran will wait until the end of Shahrivar and hopes that the government of Iraq would honor its commitments, adding, “If the deadline passes and they (terrorists) remain armed or carry out any operation, our operations against those groups will definitely reoccur more severely.”

The IRGC launched several rounds of military strikes on the positions of separatist groups in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region in 2022.

The first stage of the attacks began on September 24, after terrorists’ move to ignite riots and unrest along border cities west of Iran.

The move by IRGC Ground Force to hit Iraqi-based Komalah and Democrat terrorist groups came after illegal entry by these groups’ armed teams into the Iranian border cities.

The IRGC has said, “These terrorists - who are backed by global arrogance and are based in the Iraqi northern region – were forced to flee the country after accepting heavy casualties.”

The IRGC underlined that Iran on many occasions has warned officials of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region about the terrorist groups’ activities in the region but they have failed to pay necessary attention to the warnings and take proper measures to prevent terrorist moves.

It has also described the operations by the Iranian forces as part of efforts to ensure durable security along borders and punish criminal terrorists.