Associated Press: Iran reinforces deployment of its forces and heavy weapons across its borders with Iraq
Kurdish sources reported that Iran has deployed a large number of forces, supported by tanks and heavy weapons, across its western borders with the Kurdistan region of Iraq, where there are bases for several Iranian Kurdish opposition parties.
According to the American agency “Associated Press,” this move comes after Tehran recently hosted senior Iraqi security and defense officials and warned that it would carry out operations across the border if the Iraqi and Kurdish authorities failed to disarm the Kurdish rifles.
Iranian patrols
A prominent leader in one of the Iranian Kurdish opposition parties said, “Iran has deployed many forces on the shared borders and patrols the areas, threatening Iranian Kurdish opposition parties.”
The source added, “Iran has issued a short warning to the Iraqi government and the Kurdish authorities in the Kurdistan region to disarm our weapons. Rumors are still circulating, and such threats and military deployments are not new to us.”
The American agency also reported that in late May, the Iraqi National Security Advisor Qassem Al-Araji led a high-level security delegation to Iran and discussed border security with senior Iranian officials. Al-Araji’s visit coincided with the visit of the Iraqi Minister of Interior Abdul Amir Al-Shammari, and according to the Iraqi media, the minister discussed issues related to the security of the shared borders between the two countries.
It was reported that Iran increased pressure on the federal Iraqi government, as well as the Kurdistan Regional Government, to implement a recent security agreement regarding the borders between the two countries. The border security agreement was signed in March and aimed primarily at tightening the borders with the Iraqi Kurdish region, where Iranian Kurdish opposition parties have established their bases.
Under the signed security agreement, Iraq commits not to allow armed groups to use its territory in the Iraqi Kurdish region to launch any cross-border attacks on neighboring Iran.
Hengaw Organization for Human Rights posted videos on Twitter documenting Iran’s transfer of heavy weapons to cities inhabited by Kurds in Iranian Kurdistan.
The agency pointed out that the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) is an Iranian Kurdish opposition party that has launched an armed rebellion against the Iranian government since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. It was founded in Iranian Kurdistan in 1946 by the late Kurdish leader Qazi Muhammad, the founder of the first modern Kurdish state in Mahabad.
Iranian threats
Khaled Wanusha, a member of the Central Committee of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, confirmed that Iran has deployed a large number of forces, supported by tanks and heavy weapons, near the borders of the Kurdistan Region.
Wanusha pointed out that “the Islamic regime does not respect any international customs and laws, and it is not the first time that Tehran has made such threats by moving forces to destabilize the borders and kill people.”
He added, “According to the Iraqi-Iranian security agreement, which we heard about from news agencies but were not informed by Iraq or the Kurdistan Regional Government about its content, officials in the Kurdistan Region only told us to take into account the political situation in the region.”
Wanusha emphasized that “disarming us or gathering us in camps is unacceptable in any form, and it is a red line for us. At the same time, we will consider the principles of good neighborliness.”
An informed source close to Iraqi and Iranian officials said that Tehran wants to completely expel Iranian Kurdish groups from Iraq and send them to a third country, similar to the case of the Mujahideen-e-Khalq, also known as the People’s Mujahideen of Iran. It is an Iranian extremist political organization that opposes the Islamic Republic of Iran.
