group PJAK to be “over” with the Iraqi Kurds seemingly pledging to sit on the Iranian Kurds.
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi and the president of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government, Masoud Barzani, made the announcement at a press conference after the two officials emerged from a meeting in Tehran.
“Mr. Barzani vowed to have the best borders from now on so people can travel easily and not be subject to any insecurity…. We consider this issue to be over,” Salehi said.
In the past, Iran has accused Barzani’s government of providing safe havens for the Kurdish rebel group PJAK (Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan), which launched attacks inside Iranian territory.
But in a change of tone, Salehi patted Barzani’s back at the press conference:
“With the good management of Mr. Barzani, we were able to handle the issue of the PJAK terrorist group and currently our borders with the Kurdistan region of Iraq are secure.”
For his part, Barzani promised that his government will keep the Iran-Kurdistan borders safe. That was a change from his comments just a few months ago, when he said the Iraqi Kurds did not get involved in disputes involving Iranian or Turkish Kurds because that would produce bloodshed within the Kurdish family.
Whether this change of tone was real or just for the press conference remains to be seen. Iran’s dealings with the Iraqi Kurds and Barzani’s family have ranged from very warm to very cold over the decades. There is no reason to believe that won’t continue.
Iran launched a large-scale military operation against PJAK positions in mid-July, pounding rebel strongholds for more than two months.
Although Iran inflicted damage on PJAK, the rebel group also claimed Iranian fatalities, including at least one high-ranking Pasdar officer.
At the end of operations, Iran announced that it had established complete control over its border regions and that PJAK had agreed to stay at least one kilometer inside Iraq’s border.
But reminders of PJAK’s onetime presence still remain along the border.
A Guards commander was killed October 26 by a mine as the officer and his team cleared mines planted PJAK.