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Iran's border outlets with Iraqi Kurdistan
still closed
7.10.2007
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October
7, 2007
Erbil-Hewler, Kurdistan region 'Iraq', --
Traders in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region flocked
on Sunday to a border post Iran announced it would
reopen after a
two-week closure to protest at the US
arrest of an
Iranian national.
The trucks began arriving early Sunday at the Haj
Umran frontier crossing but by mid-morning there was
no sign of movement from the Iranian side, said
Abdul Wahid Koani, mayor of the frontier town of
Joman.
"The merchants went this morning to with their
trucks hoping to cross over but the gates were still
shut," said Koani, whose town is near the Haj Umran
border post.
"But the Iranian side always takes its time," he
added. "It could be two days or three hours."
Iran's semi-official news agency Fars had reported
that the border would reopen on Sunday.
"It has been agreed to
reopen the borders
as of... October 7, 2007" it quoted Iran's Supreme
National Security Council's deputy in charge of
domestic security, Mohammad Jafari, as saying on
Saturday.
Tehran had
closed its borders
with Iraqi Kurdistan 'northern Iraq' on September 24
following the detention of Mahmoud Farhadi by US
forces.
The US military charges that Farhadi is an officer
of the Quds Force, the covert operations arm of
Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards which is accused
by American commanders of helping Shiite militias
involved in Iraq's bloody sectarian conflict.
Iran and the Kurdistan regional government however
say Farhadi is a 'businessman' who was part of a
commercial delegation visiting Sulaimaniyah.
An Iranian source told Rozhnama newspaper that Farhadi was a member of Quds army and
most members of the [Iranian delegation] are members
of the
Iranian intelligence agency
(Ittilaa’t).
"After two days of negotiations, it was agreed that
Iraq takes necessary steps to control the border and
block the penetration of terrorists into the Iranian
soil," Jafari said of the results of recent talks
with a high-ranking Kurdish delegation in Tehran.
The talks would continue on October 18, he said.
Iran has accused the United States of turning a
blind eye to the actions of the local rebels.
Washington also accuses Tehran of fomenting unrest
in Iraq since the 2003 US-led liberation that
toppled Saddam Hussein.
A member of the Kurdish delegation, Nabhan Omar,
told reporters in Sulaimaniyah by telephone from
Tehran that the opening of the border was for a
trial period of 18 days.
"It is a temporary measure and during this time we
will try to agree on a mechanism that will allow for
a permanent reopening of the border," Omar said.
"It was agreed that neither side would allow their
territory to be used by armed groups as a
springboard for attacks across the borders."
Iran
confirmed for the first time
on September 23 that it had been shelling camps of
Kurdish militants inside northern Iraq, saying the
local authorities had not listened to its warnings.
The militant Kurdish separatist group PJAK -- linked
to Turkey's outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
-- has been behind a string of deadly attacks on
security forces in Kurdish northwestern Iran
(Iranian Kurdistan) in recent months.
PEJAK (Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan) , Since
2004 PEJAK took up arms for self-rule in the
country's mainly Kurdistan province northwestern of
Iran. Half the members of PEJAK are women.
Omar said it had also been agreed to reopen the
Iranian consulate in Erbil which was shut in January
when US forces raided the building and arrested five
Iranians they said were Quds Force officers.
Another Iranian consulate would be opened in
Sulaimaniyah while Iraqi consulates would be opened
in Kermanshah and Urmia, two cities in northwestern
Iran near the borders of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish
region.
AFP
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