Report: Iraq to gradually close border crossings with Iran in coming days
<p>Iraq's Prime Minister has ordered the gradual closure of several border crossings with Iran over the coming days, an Iraqi government official told <i>Al Jazeera</i>.</p><p>According to the official, the Al-Sheeb border crossing will be closed to passenger traffic and the movement of goods starting Wednesday.</p>
Iranian ambassador Mohammad Al Sadegh announced on Tuesday that Iraq has consented to either expel or transfer to Tehran Iranian Kurdish opposition groups residing in the Kurdistan region. The announcement followed a Monday meeting of the Iraq-Iran joint security committee in Baghdad, where Qasim Al Aboudi led the Iraqi delegation alongside representatives from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.
Al Sadegh stated in a X post that both parties agreed on removing or handing over these "elements of Iranian separatist terrorist groups" from Iraq's Kurdistan region or to Iran. No immediate reaction has been issued by the Iraqi government, Kurdistan region, or Al Aboudi. An official Iraqi summary of the meeting indicated that both sides discussed implementing the joint security agreement and finding solutions to outstanding issues.
This development follows Iraq's recent endorsement of Yassir Al Maliki, the son-in-law of pro-Iran State of Law Coalition leader Nouri Al Maliki, as Interior Minister. The two nations signed a bilateral security agreement in March 2023, requiring Baghdad to disarm and relocate Iranian Kurdish opposition groups from the border area and prevent Iraq from being used to launch attacks on Iran.
Groups like the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran, Komala, the Free Life Party of Kurdistan, and the Kurdistan Freedom Party were supposed to surrender their heavy weapons and relocate to camps further from the border. Iraqi authorities said families would be moved to five designated camps in the Kurdistan region, with the UN refugee agency handling asylum requests.
These groups, some of which have been in northern Iraq since the 1980s, are seeking better rights for Iran's Kurdish minority, whom Tehran considers terrorists and destabilizers, as seen in the 2022 protests over Mahsa Amini's death. The growing pressure on Baghdad and Erbil over the presence of these groups prompted Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani's recent criticism of the Iranian opposition's "irresponsible" actions and their threat to the region.
Implementation of the security agreement has been inconsistent, with Baghdad claiming to have moved fighters and closed some headquarters, while Tehran has continued drone and missile strikes on opposition camps in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah provinces. Confirming the expelling or handing over of these groups would significantly solidify Iraq's stance and raise legal and humanitarian concerns for the thousands of Iranian Kurdish refugees residing in Iraq, primarily in the Kurdistan region.
The Kurdistan Regional Government has previously opposed forced returns, advocating for a peaceful resolution that respects Iraq's constitution, which prohibits armed groups from threatening neighbors while protecting refugee rights.
Written by urgent.news from The National UAE's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
