to report «iusnews»; Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri stressed the need for the precise implementation of a pact between Tehran and Baghdad to maintain security and stability at common borders, and further urged the Iraqi government to completely disarm terrorists based in the border region.
In a meeting with Iraqi Minister of Interior Abdul Amir al-Shammari on Sunday, Maj. Gen. Baqeri said there is still evidence and concern about the presence of certain terrorist elements in the border region.
“The Iraqi government is expected to keep up the border control job until the complete disarmament of those groups," the top general stated.
He added joint activities of the two countries' border guards can help establish full security along the border.
The military chief said 1,500 kilometers of border between Iran and Iraq "should be the border of friendship, trade and safe tourism”.
The Iraqi interior minister, for his part, hailed the Iranian Armed Forces' joint cooperation with Iraq to enhance border security and stability.
Shammari added Iraq gives primacy to gaining full control over all border points with Iran.
On Sunday, Maj. Gen. Baqeri also met with Iraqi Defense Minister Thabet Mohammed Al-Abbasi in Baghdad.
During the meeting, Baqeri highlighted the high position of Iraq in Iran's foreign and defense policies, saying Tehran and Baghdad need to strengthen security and defense cooperation given the regional circumstances and the status of the two countries.
Pointing to great achievements of the Iranian Armed Forces in the tactical, strategic and technical spheres, the top general stated Iran was ready to share its knowledge and expertise with Iraq.
Baqeri also added the Iranian Armed Forces are prepared to stage bilateral or multilateral naval rescue and relief drills in the Persian Gulf.
Following a series of meetings at various levels in both Iran and Iraq, Tehran and Baghdad reached a deal to disarm and relocate the terrorist groups based in Northern Iraq. Under the agreement, the Iraqi government has promised to disarm terrorist and separatist groups operating in the Kurdistan region, vacate their military barracks and transfer them to the camps established by the Baghdad government.
Baghdad has pledged that it is committed to the security pact with Tehran, and that anti-Tehran terrorists have been evacuated from the common borders and pushed back deep inside the Iraqi soil. The Baghdad government has announced that the presence of Kurdish armed groups operating against Iran has been limited to five camps inside Iraq.
Iranian officials say the security pact between Tehran and Baghdad guarantees stability along both countries’ borders and serves as a logical and proper road map for the elimination of elements which create insecurity in the two countries and in the entire region.
Tehran has repeatedly reiterated that President Seyed Ebrahim Rayeesi's foreign policy is basically built on good neighborliness. Iran’s officials say Tehran is willing to further bolster bilateral ties with its neighbors despite enemies' opposition.
Since late September 2022, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has launched a series of aerial operations on the headquarters of terrorist groups in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. The military operation came after the illegal entry of armed teams linked with the Kurdish terrorist groups into the Iranian border cities in recent months.
The Permanent Mission of Iran to the UN had announced that diplomacy has failed to bring an end to the presence of terrorists in Kurdistan region and the terror activities in the Arab country has left Tehran with no other option but to use military force against them.
The IRGC Ground Force has announced that the operations against terror bases will continue until all anti-Iran separatist and terrorist outfits holed up in the rugged mountainous area lay down their arms and surrender.
The Iranian Armed Forces, specially the IRGC, have repeatedly warned that they will never tolerate the presence and activity of terrorist groups along the Northwestern border and will give crushing and decisive responses in case of anti-security activities.
The IRGC has on countless occasions attacked and demolished terrorist hideouts in the Kurdistan region with artillery fire, missiles and drones.
Military officials warn of Tehran’s continued attacks against the strongholds of anti-revolutionary groups in the region, especially the Iraqi Kurdistan region. They threatened the Americans that their bases in the region should also be abolished and not be used as an anti-revolutionary center.
