The Iranian military on Tuesday threatened to use military action if Baghdad fails to meet a September deadline to secure its border and disarm Kurdish opposition groups based in the Kurdistan Region.
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. Iranian armed forces have carried out many attacks on the alleged positions of these groups, including using both ballistic missiles and drones. In March, Iran and Iraq signed a border protection deal.
Chief of Staff of Iran’s armed forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri on Tuesday said that Iran had suspended cross-border strikes after Baghdad agreed to a September 22 deadline to disarm the Kurdish opposition groups and secure the border regions.