Iraq closes 80 bases of Iranian Kurdish opposition parties, hands over heavy weapons to Peshmerga

Shafaq News/ Iraq's National Security Advisor, Qasim al-Araji, announced on Tuesday that Iraqi authorities have closed around 80 headquarters of Iranian Kurdish opposition parties located along the border between Iran and the Kurdistan Region. He also revealed that the heavy weapons held by these parties were handed over to the Peshmerga forces.

In an interview with Iranian state television, al-Araji stated, “We have shut down 77 headquarters of the Iranian Kurdish opposition along the shared border and handed over the sites to the Border Guard Command.”

He further explained that members of these groups have been relocated to six camps—four in Erbil and two in Al-Sulaymaniyah—and that discussions are ongoing with the United Nations to facilitate their resettlement in a third country.

Al-Araji praised the Kurdistan Regional Government for its "very good" cooperation in this matter. He confirmed that the heavy weapons once possessed by these opposition parties have been transferred to the Peshmerga forces.

Regarding the evacuated bases, al-Araji added, “For the headquarters where we cannot deploy border guards, we have demolished them to prevent them from being used for drug trafficking or as bases for armed groups.”

Iranian Kurdish opposition groups have long used Iraqi Kurdistan as a base for operations against Iran. Among the most prominent groups are the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), led by Mustafa Hijri since 1945, and the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KSZK), led by Abdullah Mohtadi since 1969. Other parties include the Organization of Iranian Kurdistan Struggle (Khabat), the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), and the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK). These groups have historically sought greater autonomy for Kurds in Iran, often facing harsh crackdowns from the Iranian government, which has pressured Iraq to take action against them.

Negotiations and dialogues between Iranian Kurdish opposition groups and the Iranian government have been limited and often overshadowed by military actions and crackdowns.

Last year, as protests raged across Iran after the death in police custody of 22-year-old Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched several rounds of deadly air strikes and artillery attacks against positions of Kurdish rebel groups in northern Iraq.

Tehran accused the groups of “smuggling arms and men into Iran to carry out terrorist operations and fan the flames of the riots.”

In a security agreement reached between Tehran and Iraq's government in March 2023, Baghdad committed to securing the long eastern border with Iran in the Iraqi Kurdistan region, while also agreeing to disarm and relocate Iranian-Kurdish opposition groups based in the area.

After the agreement, Kurdish President Nechirvan Barzani visited Iran in May. During his visit, Barzani met with top Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Barzani pledged that Erbil would work to disarm "terrorist groups" and ensure their removal from the Kurdistan region.

On August 2023, Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Nasser Kanani said that the Iraqi government has committed to disarming “terrorist, secessionist groups” in Iraqi Kurdistan by September 19. Since then, many offices of Kurdish parties opposing Tehran have been shut down.