Meeting of Iraqi Security Officials and Kurdistan Region on Kurdish Opposition Parties Against the Islamic Republic

Iraqi and Kurdistan Region security officials met on Saturday to discuss the security agreement between Tehran and Baghdad and the presence of Kurdish opposition parties against the Islamic Republic in the Kurdistan Region. Qassem al-Araji, Iraq's National Security Advisor, visited Sulaymaniyah on Saturday morning and met with 'Reber Ahmed', the Interior Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government. According to Mr. al-Araji, the Iran-Iraq security agreement was the main focus of this meeting. Officials from the Iraqi Foreign Ministry and Border Guard were also present. Iran and Iraq signed a joint security cooperation agreement late last year, which primarily focused on the presence of Kurdish opposition parties. The Islamic Republic accuses these Kurdish parties of using the Kurdistan Region of Iraq for military operations inside Iran and being involved in anti-government protests. Additionally, Iran summoned the Iraqi ambassador due to the presence of Kurdish opponents at an event in the Kurdistan Region. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has repeatedly attacked the positions of these parties with missiles and drones in recent years, resulting in casualties among civilians. Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the IRGC Ground Forces, stated last week that the Iraqi government has committed to disarming and expelling the Kurdish opposition parties as part of this security agreement. He warned that if the Iraqi government fails to fulfill its commitments within the specified time, IRGC attacks will continue. The Kurdish parties declined to comment on the new pressures from the Islamic Republic. However, Mohammad Saleh Qaderi, a representative of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan in Erbil, recently told the Kurdish section of Voice of America that if pressures from the Islamic Republic through the Iraqi government and other parties increase, it is not far-fetched that they might also transfer their 'struggles' inside Iran. The foreign ministers of Iran and Iraq also spoke by phone on Friday, emphasizing the implementation of the security agreement between the two countries. Concurrently with the threats from the Islamic Republic, Turkey also conducted drone attacks against Kurdish opponents in Iraq.