On Sunday, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary, Ali Shamkhani, traveled to Baghdad, where he met with his counterpart, Iraqi National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji. The two signed a joint security agreement on border security between their nations, with particular emphasis on the Kurdish-controlled area. Iran has had issues with the Kurds for years, blaming them for anti-Iranian terrorist activity. The agreement was signed in the presence of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani.
Sunday’s agreement includes coordination in “protecting the common borders between the two countries and consolidating cooperation in several security fields,” a statement from the Iraqi Prime Minister’s office said.
“Under the signed security deal, Iraq pledges it would not allow armed groups to use its territory in the Iraqi Kurdish region to launch any border-crossing attacks on neighbour Iran,” said an Iraqi official who was present at the signing. Shamkani said the agreement “can completely and fundamentally end the vicious actions of these groups.” The agreement had apparently been in the works for months, following a series of protests and attacks between Kurds and Iran last year, after which Iraq had promised to redeploy troops to the border area.
According to Indo-Asian News Service, the Iraqi Prime Minister said that Iraq’s government and people have an appreciation for their Iranian “brothers’” support and assistance. He also reportedly said that Iranian and Iraqi officials view their two countries as “united as one.”
