Peregraf
Iraqi National Security Advisor Qassem al-Araaji has received approval from the Ministry of Migration and Displaced to relocate Iranian opposition parties from the Zrgwez area to the Surdash camp in Sulaymaniyah Governorate which is located 53 kilometers west of the city center near the Dukan lake.
According to an official letter sent to the Ministry of Migration on August 19, 2024, a copy of which has been obtained by Peregraf, this move is part of the implementation of the security agreement between Iraq and Iran.
On the same day, Iraqi Minister of Migration and Displaced Ivan Faiq responded to al-Araaji's letter, expressing no objection to the request and agreeing to allocate the Surdash camp for this purpose.
On August 19, 2024, al-Araaji met with Minister Faiq to discuss the ministry's support for the work of the High Security Committee, which monitors the implementation of the Iraq-Iran security agreement, according to a post on al-Araaji's Facebook page.
"The Iraqi National Security Advisor's letter concerns the resettlement of Iranian opposition parties in the Zrgwez area within Surdash camp," a senior security source told Peregraf.
Qassem al-Araaji's official letter to the Iraqi Ministry of Migration and Displaced
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Iraqi Minister of Migration and Displaced response to al-Araaji's letter
Zrgwez is located approximately 10 kilometers south of Sulaymaniyah city, along the Qaradagh road.
Several Iranian Kurdish parties have bases across the border in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, including the Komala Organization of the Communist Party of Iran (Komala CPI), the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI), the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, and the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK).
The security agreement between Iraq and Iran, signed in March 2023, in the presence of the Kurdistan Regional Government's Interior Minister, focuses on disarming the eastern Kurdistan parties and resettling them in camps.
Iran has repeatedly shelled the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRG) citing threats from separatist armed groups. In late 2022, these attacks intensified, with Iran repeatedly targeting the headquarters of eastern Kurdish parties deep within the region using ballistic missiles and drones.