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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s government this week revoked the passport of an exiled Kurdish-Iranian opposition leader without providing an explanation, according to a decree seen by Rudaw and confirmed by an Iraqi official.
The letter, signed by Majd Adnan Ahmed, head of the Iraqi interior ministry’s passport directorate, and dated Monday, states that Mustafa Mohammed Amin’s passport has been revoked. A senior official from the ministry confirmed the authenticity of the letter to Rudaw on Thursday.
Mustafa Mohammed Amin is the real name of Mustafa Hijri, the Head of the Executive Center of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI). Hijri previously served as secretary-general of the party and remains as its most influential figure.
The KDPI is a Kurdish opposition party that has waged an on-and-off armed war against the Iranian government since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The party’s bases in the Kurdistan Region have been repeatedly targeted by Iranian forces in recent years.
The Iraqi interior ministry did not provide grounds for the revocation. The source from the ministry, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that the person in question is Hijri.
The KDPI was founded in Mahabad, Western Iran (Rojhelat) by Kurdish leader Qazi Muhammad in 1946 under the name of the Democratic Party.
The security pact signed between Iran and Iraq last March last year saw Baghdad agree to disarm Kurdish opposition groups and secure the border regions. Iran had threatened to use military action if Baghdad failed to fulfill the agreement. In September, Baghdad announced that it had disarmed the exiled Kurdish groups on the border and that offices previously used by the groups had been evacuated.
Iran has long accused the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of harboring opposition groups it considers threats to its national security and allowing them to use the border areas as a launchpad for attacks. Kurdistan Region has categorically rejected Tehran's accusations.
The KDPI has honored a unilateral truce with Iran for over two decades with the exception of a brief period in 2016 during which it resumed its attacks.
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