TEHRAN- Iraq’s foreign minister said on Monday that Kurdish militant groups near the border with Iran have handed over their heavy equipment as the deadline for their disarming and redeployment under a security agreement between Tehran and Baghdad approaches.

Fuad Hussein said the armed groups and their families will be transferred to five camps in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

The senior Iraqi diplomat reaffirmed his country’s commitment to the security pact with Iran, adding that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has taken the required steps in accordance with Baghdad’s agreement with Tehran.

Hussein emphasized that Iraq seeks peaceful solutions based on discussion and respect for neighbors and that Baghdad condemns any act of violence against its national sovereignty.

Iran and Iraq signed a security deal in March under which the Iraqi government committed to disarm terrorist separatist groups in the Iraqi Kurdistan region by September 19, remove their military barracks, and transfer them to Baghdad government-established camps.

On Sunday, Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiyani warned Baghdad of an “eleventh-hour decision” on the issue and stated that Tehran would not extend the deadline for Iraq to disarm Kurdish separatist groups along the Iranian border.

“We do not have any extension to the deadline. We will act in due time in accordance with the agreement made with Iraq,” Brigadier General Ashtiyani said.

According to reports, the KRG minister of interior, the special representative of the UN secretary general for Iraq, and the national security advisor for Iraq met in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan regional government, to discuss the implementation of the security accord.

Meanwhile, Iraqi media argued on Saturday that the country’s border guards had gained complete control of an area on the Kurdistan region’s border with Iran and had driven out terrorist groups after severe confrontations.

The two nations reached a security deal after anti-Iranian separatist militant groups based in Iraq’s Kurdistan expanded their harmful actions, particularly in border areas.

In response to their operations, the IRGC has undertaken three rounds of strikes against their sites since September 24 of last year, pledging to continue the attacks until the groups surrender.

Iran has repeatedly warned local authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan that it will not accept the existence and operation of terrorist groups near its northern borders, threatening a strong response if such areas become a refuge for anti-Tehran terrorists.