Iraq’s foreign minister says Baghdad is determined to close Camp Ashraf and expel Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) terrorists from the country.
“We have called on the international community and European countries to accept residents of the Camp Ashraf so the camp could be closed,” Hoshyar Zebari told Mehr News Agency on Sunday.
Earlier in May, the US proposed a plan to relocated Camp Ashraf residents to other parts of Iraq before their final resettlement in third countries.
Members of the MKO fled to Iraq in 1986, where they enjoyed the support of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and set up Camp Ashraf in Diyala Province, near the Iranian border.
The group has carried out numerous acts of terror and violence against Iranian civilians and government officials.
The terror organization is also known to have cooperated with Saddam in suppressing the 1991 uprisings in southern Iraq and the massacre of Iraqi Kurds in the north.
Tehran has repeatedly called on the Iraqi government to expel the group. Following the ouster of Saddam in 2003, the Iraqi government has set numerous deadlines for the terrorist group to leave the country but MKO has managed to maintain Camp Ashraf due to US backing.
Zebari said relations between Iran and Iraq is increasing, predicting that bilateral ties would develop further in the future.
