Iran summons Iraqi ambassador, protests presence of opposition groups
The Cradle, May 15, 2023 —
Iran considers the separatist groups terrorist organizations and holds them responsible for several deadly attacks in the past.
According to media reports, Iran summoned Iraq’s ambassador to protest the presence of Iranian opposition groups during an official ceremony in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, The New Arab reports on 14 May.
According to ISNA, Tehran expressed its “strong objection” to the invitation of members of “separatist groups” to the Saturday ceremony, which was “contrary to the recent security agreement between the Islamic Republic and Iraq.”
Iran considers the separatist groups terrorist organizations and holds them responsible for several deadly attacks in the past.
Several Iranian Kurdish factions have camps and bases in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR) which factions Iran has accused of serving western and Israeli objectives in the past.
In March, Iran and Iraq inked a contract to secure their shared border, and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi confirmed the “security” accord the following month, adding, “the security of Iraq and its borders is very important to us.”
The protest was a result of a ceremony held in the Kurdistan region that was organized to dedicate a cultural center in honor of the late Kurdish national hero Mustafa Barzani on Thursday.
Iraqi President Abdel Latif Rashid and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, as well as leaders from Iranian opposition parties, attended the ceremony, according to the reports.
“Following the invitation of members of separatist groups to an official ceremony in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the continuation of some terrorist groups’ movements in this region, the Iraqi ambassador in Tehran was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday,” ISNA wrote.
The border security agreement signed on 19 March reportedly aimed at bolstering security initiatives around the IKR, as Tehran claims that Kurdish separatist groups pose a threat to its national security following nationwide protests and several armed attacks on places of worship, as well as the targeting of security forces.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani affirmed to Iran’s head Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, that the agreement will ensure the protection of Iran and Iraq’s shared border, as well as encourage security cooperation in “several security fields.”