Iran's Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani was received by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani in Baghdad on Sunday. The Iranian official later signed a security deal with Iraq's National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji, according to a statement from Sudani’s office.
The deal “includes coordination in protecting the common borders between the two countries, and the consolidation of joint cooperation in several security fields, read the statement.
Iran targeted the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) in Erbil province in November, causing numerous casualties. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also struck bases of exiled Kurdish opposition groups in Kurdistan Region in late September, killing at least 16 and injuring 50 others.
The latest attacks by the IRGC came as the regime was facing both international and internal pressure over its violent crackdown on the protests sparked by the controversial death of Zhina (Mahsa) Amini on September 16, while in police custody. Iranian authorities accuse Kurdish opposition parties of arming the protesters.
Shamkhani said in Baghdad on Sunday that “any tension and problem in the common borders of Iran and Iraq disrupts the security and peace of the people and it is an obstacle to the development of bordering cities, therefore, any internal and external factors that cause tension and crisis should be dealt with decisively,” Iran’s state-owned IRNA quoted him as saying.
IRNA also quoted Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian commenting on Shamkhani’s visit to Iraq. He said that his country has been under threats from the Kurdistan Region in the last four months, adding that Tehran will not tolerate any threats to its national security from a neighbouring country like Iraq.
