Middle East
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani mes with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran on November 29, 2022. Photo: Prime Minister's office
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said during a press briefing in Tehran on Tuesday that his government is committed to preventing the use of Iraq’s territory against Iran’s security.
Sudani spoke during a joint press conference with Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, during his first visit to the Iranian capital as prime minister and following bilateral meetings. The trip comes after a series of Iranian attacks targeting Kurdish opposition groups in the Kurdistan Region.
The Iranian president said that “fighting terrorist groups, organized crime, drugs” and any other threats to security are part of a common agreement between Tehran and Baghdad. He did not make reference to any specific group.
Raisi also stated that the withdrawal of “foreign” presence in the region would contribute to achieving its security. He claimed that US involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan is an example of the failure of external actors to create security.
A statement from Sudani’s office detailed that the talks in Tehran were focused on security and energy coordination, investment, water access issues, and religious pilgrimages.
On Saturday, the Iraqi prime minister received the invitation from Raisi to visit Iran.
Iran has struck bases of Kurdish opposition parties in the Kurdistan Region at least four times within the past two months, accusing the parties of encouraging and arming the ongoing protests at home.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Friday announced that they were strengthening their forces on the borders with the Kurdistan Region through deploying armored units and special forces, aimed at preventing exiled Kurdish opposition groups from transporting weapons into the country.
Iran’s continuous attacks on Iraqi land comes as IRGC’s Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani earlier this month threatened of ground operations by Iran against opposition parties taking shelter inside Iraqi land. Tehran has accused these groups of inciting the countrywide protests that erupted in Iran on September 16, but have been met with a harsher crackdown in the country’s Kurdish areas.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment