TEHRAN: Iran has summoned Iraq’s envoy to protest the presence of Iranian opposition groups at an official ceremony held in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region.
ISNA news agency quoted Iran’s foreign ministry as saying Tehran expressed its “strong objection” to the inviting members of “separatist groups” at the official ceremony “contrary to the recent security contract between the Islamic Republic and Iraq”.
Iran uses “separatist groups” for Kurdish factions opposing Iran and describes them as “terrorist” organisations.
Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region hosts camps and rear bases for several Iranian Kurdish factions, which Tehran accuse of serving Western and Israeli interests.
In March, Iran and Iraq signed an agreement to protect their common border. The following month Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi approved the “security” agreement stating, “the security of Iraq and its borders was critical to us”.
On Thursday, a ceremony was held in the Kurdistan region to inaugurate a cultural centre to pay tribute to Mustafa Barzani, the late Kurdish national hero.
Iraqi President Abdel Latif Rashid, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and representatives of Iranian opposition groups attended the ceremony.
According to ISNA, the Iraqi ambassador to Tehran was called into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday “following the invitation of members of separatist groups to a formal ceremony in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the continuation of some terrorist groups’ movements in this region.”
In November, Iran conducted cross-border missile and drone attacks against a number of organisations in northern Iraq, accusing them of inciting widespread unrest after Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini was killed in detention in September.
