Defense chief says Iran won’t postpone action against terrorists in KRG

The Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) was given a deadline of September 19 to take action against separatist Iranian militants and this deadline would not be extended, the Iranian defense minister has warned.
Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiyani stated in an interview with the Iran newspaper that the Islamic Republic will take the required steps in accordance with a deal reached with the Iraqi government about disarming and deporting terrorists from the Kurdistan region.
The September 19 deadline will not be changed, Ashtiyani reiterated.
The defense minister stated that a number of steps have been taken, and that Iran would conduct a thorough evaluation of the situation before making a final decision.
Citing a political source in Iraqi Kurdistan, Tasnim said the KRG and the separatist groups have reached an agreement based on which the groups will lay down their arms and move away from the border with Iran.
“The government of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has practically started the measures to remove the Iranian opposition parties based in the Kurdistan region in the border strip with Iran,” the source was quoted as saying on Saturday.
The source added, “The opposition parties (terrorist separatist groups) have agreed to move to the camps already established in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah provinces.”
The source continued, “It is never true that the opponents have refused to agree to the terms of the security agreement between Iran and Iraq, and want to resort to military options.”
The source noted, “The opposition parties have fully agreed with the actions of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government.”
Iran has set September 19 as the deadline for the central Iraqi government and the KRG to take action against separatists posted near the shared border.
The Iraqi government was warned in July by Iran’s top military commanders that if it does not take action against hostile armed groups in its northwestern territories by the deadline of September 19, Iran will launch new military operations against those groups.
“Iran’s stance is quite clear. According to the agreement reached with the Iraqi government, the final deadline for the disarmament of the terrorist and separatist forces in Iraq’s Kurdistan region ends on September 19 and that deadline will not be extended in any way,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said earlier this month.