Leaders from the Iranian Kurdish Democratic Party and the Iranian Komala Party rejected proposals related to moving Iranian Kurdish opposition parties from the Kurdistan Region to other areas in Iraq, considering that discussions about isolating them in closed camps fall, according to their estimates, within attempts of psychological pressure.
These positions come after discussions regarding a proposal being circulated by Iraqi political forces to move the Iranian Kurdish opposition groups to other areas, including Al-Muthanna Governorate, with the city of Samawah being suggested as a potential location for their accommodation, similar to previous experiences, including the Rafha camp and the accommodation sites for members of the Iranian Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization.
According to sources, the proposal is still in the study and deliberation phase and has not yet turned into an executive decision, while the option of handing over members of these groups to Iran under current conditions is ruled out.
The opposition leader of the Iranian Kurdish Democratic Party, Karim Brooyzi, stated in a statement followed by the news agency that the struggle of the Kurds for their national rights will not end with surrender or submission to pressures, affirming that this struggle predates the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran and will continue even after its demise.
Brooyzi considered that the circulating statements about the future of opposition parties often do not rely on formal discussions with his party but fall under the propaganda used by the Iranian regime within the framework of psychological warfare, according to his description.
He clarified that his party cannot take a position on proposals not presented to it officially, stressing the need to rely on clear data instead of assumptions and speculations.
Regarding the relationship with the Kurdistan Regional Government, Brooyzi noted the continuation of communication and cooperation between both sides, pointing out that the regional government has not yet taken a stance that calls for the cessation of the Kurdish political struggle or prevents opposition parties from continuing their activities.
Concerning relations with the United States, Brooyzi confirmed the continued political and diplomatic contacts between his party, Washington, and Tel Aviv, denying any disruption of these relations.
Komala warns against isolating the opposition in closed camps.
For his part, a member of the Central Committee of the Komala Party, the Kurdistan Organization of the Iranian Communist Party, Hussein Rahman Bana, warned of the repercussions of what he described as media and psychological campaigns targeting Iranian Kurdish opposition parties and their families and the refugees residing in the Kurdistan Region.
Rahman Bana confirmed, in a statement to Shafaq News, that his remarks reflect his personal stance and do not represent the official position of his party, which has authorized speakers and representatives to express its policies.
He accused the Iranian authorities of following a policy of prolonged assassinations, security and media pressures against the Kurdish opposition, indicating that between 350 and 400 members of political parties, activists, and leaders in Iranian Kurdistan have been assassinated since the 1990s, according to his estimates.
He added that Tehran uses media, propaganda, and psychological warfare to instill fear and uncertainty among the opposition parties and their social environment, especially families and refugees in the Kurdistan Region, considering that the current campaigns represent an extension of previous policies.
Regarding news related to relocating the opposition parties outside the region, Rahman Bana stated that Iraq had previously denied, according to his information, the existence of efforts of this kind, considering that the circulating proposals clash with attempts to undermine the opposition and instill concern within its ranks.
He criticized the possibility of relocating these parties to closed camps under strict security measures, confirming that they are different from the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization and cannot be dealt with in the same way or confined to isolated locations under the guard of Popular Mobilization Forces or entities linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, as he put it.
He saw that implementing such a scenario would deprive the parties of freedom of movement and their social extensions, limiting their ability to continue their political activities, stressing that they will not accept being forced into this choice.
Rahman Bana ruled out the possibility of isolating the Iranian Kurdish opposition from the society of the Kurdistan Region, relying on the historical and social ties that bind the two sides and the support that Kurdish families in the region have provided to members of those parties and their cadres and the Peshmerga forces affiliated with them over decades.
He confirmed that these parties have not been a burden on the region; rather, they have become part of its social and political fabric, considering that the depth of the relationship between the two sides makes implementing any plan to isolate them extremely difficult.
Caution about relying on Washington
Regarding the American position, Rahman Bana expressed caution about excessive reliance on the United States, stating that its policy is fundamentally based on its own interests and does not provide permanent guarantees for its Kurdish allies.
He cited the experience of the Kurdistan Region since the establishment of its government in 1992 and the sacrifices made by the Peshmerga forces during the war against ISIS, considering that military and political cooperation with Washington has not prevented American decisions that sometimes conflict with the aspirations of the Kurdish parties, including the reduction of some forms of financial support.
He emphasized the necessity of not fully tying the future of Kurdish parties to American positions, given the changing priorities and regional and international alliances.
The issue of Iranian Kurdish opposition parties in the Kurdistan Region frequently resurfaces amid tensions between Baghdad and Tehran, especially since the signing of a security agreement between the two countries in March 2023, which included border control and preventing the use of Iraqi territory to launch attacks on neighboring countries.
In September of the same year, the High Committee for the Implementation of the Security Agreement announced the evacuation of the headquarters of Iranian opposition groups near the border and their relocation to sites further within the Kurdistan Region, yet those groups continue to carry out hostile acts targeting the Iranian army, the Revolutionary Guard, and some Kurdish forces and Iranian civilians opposing them.