ERBIL, Iraqi Kurdistan -- Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan are considering creating a buffer zone along their porous border to stop Kurdish rebels from attacking the Islamic Republic, Nazim Dabbagh, the Kurdistan Region’s representative in Tehran, told Rudaw.

 

Dabbagh said the proposal came from Tehran, which warned the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) that Iraqi Kurdistan could face more shelling if the border isn’t brought under control. Iranian shelling against Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK) rebels, who are based along the rugged mountain border, has killed several civilians and displaced hundreds of families over the past few months.

 

“The Iranian government said that if these measures are not taken, Iran will have no choice but to do so itself, and in that case there is no guarantee where the Iranian artillery shells will land,” Dabbagh said.

 

Dabbagh said that the Kurdish government finds the Iranian proposal, which could include deploying Iraqi troops to the border, reasonable.

 

“The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) considers these proposals positive and they hope that Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and PJAK will respect the Kurdish national interest and the humanitarian consequences and thus stop harming these regions.”

 

In response, PKK chief foreign relations officer Ahmet Deniz said that he didn’t think the KRG would deploy armed forces to those regions.

 

“If they do send armed forces, we will then have a different position,” Deniz said.

 

Regarding the demand of many in the KRG that the PKK and PJAK should leave the border areas, Deniz said,

 

“Evacuating those regions will not be in the interest of the KRG. Iran wants to control the Jasusan and Haji Ibrahim Mountains in anyway possible and with that, Iran will have full control over the Iraqi Kurdistan region.”

 

According to Aqin Zeylani, a PJAK leader, Iranian forces aim to gain control of some mountain range where the PJAK is currently based and holds them back.

 

“Iran’s fight is mainly over the Mountains of Jasusan, Hji Ibrahim and Khnera,” Zeylani said. “They (Iran) try desperately to advance beyond those mountains and control the area.”

 

According to information obtained by Rudaw, Iran has asked the KRG to deploy its forces to Jasusan and Haji Ibrahim Mountain range and keep PJAK and PKK fighters away. But PKK and PJAK leaders say they are not willing to surrender the area, claiming Iran is attempting to create a war between the Kurds.

 

“Iran wants to use tactics for igniting a war between us [PKK] and the KRG,” Deniz said. “This is Iran’s major hope. KRG needs to study this matter carefully.”

 

PKK and PJAK’s claim seemed to echo the concern of Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani, who told Kurdistan’s diplomats that deploying Peshmarga forces along the border could lead to conflict between Kurds.

 

“Sending our forces to the border may cause trouble and a Kurdish-Kurdish war could break out,” Barzani said in a conference. “We are now trying with [Iraqi] President Jalal Talabani to find a solution with Iran, Turkey, PKK and PJAK. If we succeed we will be offering a service to everyone and if not, we still won’t become part of the war. We’ll decide on how to protect our own borders.”

 

However, Dabbagh asserted the PKK’s concerns were unjustified.

 

“I find it unfair to claim that Iran wants to start a war among the Kurds,” he said. “Iran did not say the deployed Iraqi forces must consist of only Kurdish forces.”

 

Anwar Haji Osman, a KRG Ministry of Peshmarga official, said they have not received any orders to dispatch forces to the border areas.

 

Meanwhile, Rudaw has learned that Iran has stationed three military brigades, including heavy artillery, tanks, planes and military checkpoints, along its borders with Iraqi Kurdistan region near the Jasusan mountain range.

 

Iran shares a 1,200-kilometer border with Iran, about half of which is with Iraqi Kurdistan, extending from Khanaqin to the Turkish border in the north.

Jasusan and Haji Ibrahim mountains are militarily significant. According to Dabbagh, the monarchy government in Iraq and the subsequent regimes always maintained military posts on the peaks that overlook Iranian territory. Iran is concerned that the PKK controls the areas.

‌ • Writer:rudaw