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Iran's Ambassador to Iraq, Mohammed Kazem Al-e Sadeq, announced on Tuesday that Baghdad had agreed to expel Iranian Kurdish opposition groups from the Kurdistan Region or hand them over to Tehran.
The announcement followed a Monday meeting of the Iran-Iraq joint security committee, attended by Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim al-Aboudi.
In a post on X, Al-e Sadeq said both sides had agreed "to expel the elements of the Iranian separatist terrorist groups from the Kurdish Region of Iraq or to hand them over to Iran."
However, Iraq's account of the meeting did not mention either expulsion or the transfer of opposition members to Iran.
Kurdish Region Interior Minister Reber Ahmed said Tuesday that regional officials did not attend the meeting in Baghdad and declined to comment on its outcome, contradicting a statement from al-Aboudi's office a day earlier, which said a government delegation from the Kurdish Region was present in talks.
According to the Iraqi national security advisor's office, the meeting focused on unresolved issues and ways to strengthen coordination among Baghdad, Erbil and Tehran. The statement did not confirm Iran's claim that the groups would be expelled or handed over to Tehran, either.
Iraq and Iran signed a border security agreement in March 2023, under which Baghdad pledged to secure their shared border, disarm Iranian Kurdish opposition groups and relocate them away from areas bordering Iran.
After Tehran warned of further military action, Iraqi authorities announced in September 2023 that the groups had been disarmed and their border headquarters evacuated.
Members were moved to designated areas, where arrangements were being made for them to receive refugee status.
The groups include the KDPI, Komala, the PAK, and the PJAK. Tehran considers them threats to its national security and accuses them of carrying out or supporting activities against Tehran.
Despite the agreement, Iran has continued striking their positions. The attacks intensified after the U.S-Israeli war against Iran began on Feb. 28, with Tehran accusing Kurdish opposition groups of cooperating with foreign powers and planning attacks on Iranian territory.
In July, a missile strike on the same group's base in Sulaimani province killed at least 10 people, marking the deadliest attack on the Kurdish region since the war began.
Before Monday's meeting, al-Aboudi told Rudaw that Baghdad remained committed to resolving the dispute peacefully and would raise Iran's continued attacks on opposition groups. "We are committed to resolving the issue of the Iranian opposition and the four parties present in the region through peaceful means," he said in an interview aired on Oct. 13.
Al-Aboudi also said Baghdad had agreed to establish camps for opposition members and their families away from the Iranian border, while the United Nations worked to process asylum applications.
The U.N. refugee agency estimates that 10,000 to 30,000 Iranian Kurdish refugees and asylum seekers live in Iraq, most of them in the Kurdistan Region.
"We will present this issue to them again and speak frankly that this matter must stop," al-Aboudi said, referring to the continuing attacks.
During a visit to Erbil on Oct. 13, al-Aboudi also met Kurdish Region President Nechirvan Barzani.
According to the regional presidency, they discussed security developments and stressed the importance of continued coordination between Iraqi and Kurdish security institutions.
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