Iraq working to relocate Iranian Kurdish opposition members to a ‘third country’

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s National Security Adviser Qasim Al-Araji announced Monday that efforts are underway to relocate members of Iranian Kurdish opposition groups to a third country. However, the plan has faced strong opposition from key factions within the opposition.

“The relocation of members of these groups to six camps is ongoing—four in Erbil and two in Sulaymaniyah. We are also coordinating with the United Nations to resettle them in a third country,” Al-Araji said in an interview with Iranian state television on Sept. 10. He added that “77 bases” belonging to the groups along the shared border with Iran have been shut down.

The announcement is part of Iraq’s implementation of a security agreement with Tehran, signed in March 2023, which calls for disarming Kurdish opposition groups based in the Kurdistan region. Under the agreement, these groups’ headquarters must be moved away from the border between Iraq and Iran.

Al-Araji also noted that “the heavy weapons of these parties have been handed over to the Kurdish Peshmerga forces,” praising the cooperation of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in helping address the issue of the Iranian opposition. Tehran has accused the groups of engaging in “terrorism” against the Iranian government.

However, Iranian Kurdish opposition groups have rejected any plans for their relocation. Mohammed Nazif Qadri, head of public relations for the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, the largest among the opposition groups, told 964media, “Our members, as individuals, can relocate to any country they choose under UN supervision through relocation programs, and this happens regularly. But as a group, there is no such plan or proposal for us to move to a third country, and even if there were, we would never accept it. We are a political party, and we will not abandon that identity.”

Qadri further added, “We have heard Qasim al-Araji’s comments, and we know this has been discussed between Iraqis and Iranians, but there is no obligation on us to relocate as a group. Individuals may choose to relocate voluntarily through the UN, but as a group, we have insisted on our right to continue our political and party activism.”

Similarly, a senior source from the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, another major faction, told 964media that they had not received any formal notice regarding a relocation plan. “The Iraqis often don’t inform us of their agreements with Iran until the last moment, possibly as a tactic to prevent us from preparing or as a psychological shock. But we would never accept any such plans,” the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.

The source added, “Talking about relocation to a third country is reminiscent of what happened to the Mujahideen, but we have not received any such request yet.”

The reference was to the People’s Mujahideen Organization of Iran, whose members were relocated from Iraq to European countries in 2016 following several attacks on their camps. The relocation was part of a deal brokered by the United States and the United Nations.

As of Sept. 5, Iranian Kurdish opposition parties have begun relocating from their strongholds in Sulaymaniyah to a controlled camp within the same governorate. According to officials, this move comes as a result of mounting pressure from Tehran.

However, the process has stalled. “The evacuation process has almost stalled because we requested better basic services in the controlled camp, such as new housing and improved facilities. Only the first group has moved to the Surdash controlled camp; the majority are staying until conditions improve,” a source familiar with the situation said.

The Secretary General of Komala, Abdullah Mohtadi, said in a speech on Sept. 10, “Relocating from one camp to another will not halt our political engagement and party activities. We vow to intensify our organizational, diplomatic, and media activities.”

Mohtadi urged members of his party to “continue their work to thwart the enemy’s plans.”

Three factions of the Komala Party—the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, the Komala of the Toilers of Kurdistan, and Komala Kurdistan’s Organization of the Communist Party of Iran—maintain bases in three adjacent villages near Sulaymaniyah: Zrgwez, Zrgwezalla, and Banagawra.

The March 2023 security agreement between Iraq and Iran was designed to prevent Iranian Kurdish groups from using the Kurdistan region as a base for operations against the Iranian government. As part of the agreement, Iraq’s central government deployed troops to patrol the border between the Kurdistan region and Iran, and the groups agreed to evacuate their positions by Sept. 19, 2023.