ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s constitution bars the presence of armed factions that pose a threat to other countries, Baghdad’s National Security Advisor Qasim al-Abboudi confirmed to Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in a Thursday meeting in the Iraqi capital.
“The Iraqi constitution does not permit the existence of armed groups that threaten the security of other countries,” Abboudi's office quoted him as telling Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in a meeting that “addressed the security agreements” between the two sides.
Iran and Iraq in March 2023 signed a security pact under which Baghdad committed to disarming Kurdish opposition groups and tightening security along the shared border, with Tehran threatening military action if Baghdad failed to fulfill the agreement.
The accord came after Tehran accused Iranian Kurdish opposition groups based in the Kurdistan Region - namely the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), Komala, the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), and the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) - of fueling Iran's nationwide protest movement in 2022.
The groups, which seek greater rights for Iran's Kurdish minority, have fought an on-and-off war with the Islamic Republic for decades.
In the wake of the Iran war, which broke out in late February, Tehran ramped up attacks on Kurdish opposition groups in the Kurdistan Region.
According to Rudaw tracking, the region has endured more than 965 drone and missile strikes launched by Iran and allied Iraqi armed groups since the conflict began, much of which targeted Kurdish dissent.
Beyond the security agreements between Baghdad and Tehran, Abboudi's meeting with Ghalibaf on Thursday also touched on the initiative led by Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's government to bring weapons held by non-state armed groups - including Iran-aligned factions - under state control.
The Iraqi security official told the Iranian speaker that Baghdad is "moving forward with consolidating weapons under state authority," emphasizing that "the security of Iraq is integral for regional stability."
"The meeting also addressed the latest regional developments and ways to strengthen relations between Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran in a manner that serves the interests of both countries and their friendly peoples," Abboudi's office added.
Ghalibaf, for his part, was quoted as affirming that his country "values its relations with Iraq and supports the [Zaidi] government's program regarding the establishment of a legal framework” to place weapons under the command of the Iraqi state.
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