In an interview with Rudaw’s Nwenar Fatih which aired on Monday, KDPI Spokesperson Khalid Azizi refuted Tehran’s claims that the party sends fighters to Iran to incite chaos, stating that there is already a “wide, civil, legal, and popular movement in the country,” and that the answer to the Kurdish issue in Iran is not though military action.
In March, Iran and Iraq signed a border protection deal, in which Baghdad agreed to a September 22 deadline to disarm the Kurdish opposition groups and secure the border regions. The Iranian military earlier this month threatened to use military action if Baghdad fails to meet the deadline.
“We believe that the solution to the Kurdish issue in Iran is not through military action. We have not sent Peshmerga [to Iran] in recent times, nor do we plan to. We have also not tried to use the Kurdistan Region or Iraqi land as a battlefield for our struggle,” said Azizi.
The spokesperson said that the party has always avoided interfering in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region’s affairs out of respect for the country’s sovereignty and laws, adding that they have no issues with Baghdad and Erbil’s decision to beef up its security presence on the border areas.
Tehran has long accused the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of harboring opposition groups it considers “terrorists” and allowing them to use the border areas as a launchpad for attacks against the Islamic republic.
“We have no problems with more border guards being deployed. We respect that,” he noted, adding that they are ready to reach a solution within the framework of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region’s policies to avoid the fight that Tehran is trying to impose on Baghdad, Erbil, and the KDPI.
Azizi added that the KDPI maintains good relations with the Kurdistan Region, and that they are constantly communicating with Erbil and Baghdad to find a solution that would not harm the security of the area and benefit all sides. He stated that both Baghdad and Erbil have dealt with this issue “very responsibly.”
The KDPI is a Kurdish opposition party that has waged an on-and-off war against the Iranian government since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The party has been based in the Kurdistan Region since the 1980’s and Iran frequently bombards areas where the KDPI is present, including using ballistic missiles in what it says are efforts to target the group.
Iraqi and Kurdistan Region officials have repeatedly criticized the presence of exiled Kurdish opposition groups within their borders, saying they harm relations with their neighbors.
Iranian-Kurdish opposition groups based in the Kurdistan Region - namely the KDPI, Komala, Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), and the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) - have been accused by Tehran of fueling the nationwide protest movement in Iran last September and inciting unrest in the country.
In late November, Iran targeted the bases of Kurdish dissident groups with a barrage of ballistic missiles and suicide drones, prompting the Iraqi government to boost its troop numbers on the border in an attempt to curb further violations of its sovereignty.
Two months prior, the IRGC fired around 73 ballistic missiles and launched dozens of suicide drones towards bases of the opposition parties. At least 16 people were killed and 58 injured in the bombardment.
