On Monday, Iran’s foreign ministry announced that Iran and Iraq have come to an agreement regarding the disarmament and relocation of “armed terrorist groups” situated in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. This action is set to take place next month.
“An agreement has been struck between Iran and Iraq, in which Iraq has committed to disarm armed separatists and terrorist groups present in its territory, close their bases, and relocate them to other locations before the 19th of September,” ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said at a weekly briefing.
The spokesperson did not specify where militants would be relocated. There was no immediate comment from Iraq.
Iran has long accused Iraq’s autonomous northern Kurdish region of harboring terrorist groups involved in attacks against the Islamic Republic, with the Revolutionary Guards repeatedly targeting their bases.
Last September, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards fired missiles and drones at militant targets at Iraq’s Kurdish region, killing 13 people, according to local authorities.
Iraq’s foreign ministry had condemned the attacks. Iran’s elite military and security forces had said it would continue targeting what it called terrorists in the region. (Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Nick Macfie)