Iran parades military on Iraq war anniversary

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran on Friday paraded its military arsenal on the anniversary of the war with Iraq in the 1980s, with President Ebrahim Raisi commending the disarmament and relocation of Kurdish exiled groups from the border. 

The parade is an annual occasion marking the anniversary of the bloody eight-year-long war between Iraq and Iran that broke out in 1980, only a year after the birth of the Islamic republic. The war shaped the young theocracy and contributed to fueling antagonism against the US which supported former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s forces in the war.

During the parade, Raisi praised Iran’s “transformation” into a global military power equipped with advanced missiles and drones – with most of these showcased during the parade. 

Last month, Tehran unveiled its latest domestically manufactured drone dubbed Mohajer-10, boasting of an extended operational range and advanced weapons capabilities, according to state media.

Iran has faced mounting criticism over the past year as Ukraine and Western countries accuse Tehran of sending drones to Russia to use in its war in Ukraine. Iranian-made Shahed drones have been launched towards Ukraine repeatedly. 

The Iranian president also thanked Iraq for disarming and relocating Kurdish opposition groups away from the Iranian-Kurdistan Region border. 
“No group near the border of Iran has the right to have weapons, and we will not allow any separatist group to incite sedition against the Islamic Republic of Iran at the border points,” Raisi said, cited by state-run IRNA. 

Iraq on Tuesday announced that it has complied with the terms of the joint security pact with Iran and disarmed the Kurdish exiled groups on the Iraq-Iran border, adding that the offices previously used by the opposition groups have been “definitively” evacuated.

In March, Iran and Iraq signed a border protection deal, in which Baghdad agreed to a September 19 deadline to disarm Kurdish opposition groups and secure the border regions. The Iranian military in July threatened to use military action if Baghdad fails to meet the deadline.

Iranian-Kurdish opposition groups based in the Kurdistan Region - namely the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), Komala, Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), and the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) - have been accused of fueling the nationwide protest movement in Iran last year and inciting unrest in the country. The groups, struggling for greater rights for Iran’s marginalized Kurdish population, have fought an on-and-off war with the Islamic Republic.