Tehran, Baghdad stepping up security cooperation as Iran FM visits Iraq

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has discussed security cooperation with Iraqi sides during his ongoing visit to the neighboring state, stressing that this cooperation will improve the security and stability of both countries.

The Iranian minister, who is in Iraq for an official visit, held separate meetings with a number of Iraqi officials on Thursday, discussing a range of topics of mutual interests, including security cooperation.

Talking with Iraq’s National Security Advisor Qassim al-Araji, Amir-Abdollahian said he was pleased that Iran and Iraq have succeeded in forming a high-security committee to dispel some existing concerns in the Iraqi Kurdistan region.

He noted that Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani is also set to travel to Iraq to sign a security cooperation agreement with Baghdad.

Describing the presence of any anti-Iranian and separatist group in the Kurdistan region as "unacceptable", he said that this will pose a threat to Iran, Iraq and even the Kurdistan region.

For his part, al-Araji described recent plots to deal a blow to the Islamic Republic of Iran as a delusion, stressing that any threat from Iraq’s soil to Iran will be "unacceptable and deplorable".

The advisor also pointed to the importance of regional cooperation, noting that if interactions among regional countries are improved, there will be no room for the presence of extra-regional countries.

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The remarks come as anti-Iranian terrorist groups residing in the Iraqi Kurdistan region have increased their malign activities, especially in border areas. Responding to the activities, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has launched several rounds of airstrikes against their positions since September 24 last year, vowing to continue attacks till the groups are unarmed.

Iran has, on countless occasions, warned the Iraqi Kurdistan’s local authorities that it will not tolerate the presence and activity of terrorist groups along its northwestern borders, saying the country will give a decisive response should those areas become a hub of anti-Islamic Republic terrorists.

Amir-Abdollahian also held talks with Faleh al-Fayyad, head of Iraq’s Hashd al-Sha’abi.

Expressing gratitude for the efforts and struggles of Hashd al-Sha’abi forces in battling Daesh and restoring stability and security to Iraq, he said stability and security in Iraq equal stability and security in Iran.

Fayyad, for his part, appreciated Iran for its unwavering support for the establishment of stability on the borders and across the entire region, stressing the need for the Iranian and Iraqi governments to keep up security cooperation.

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In a separate meeting with Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council Faiq Zidane, Amir-Abdollahian thanked Baghdad's efforts to form a high-security committee between the two countries, noting that the presence of terrorist groups is a threat to all parties, including Baghdad.  

The Iranian foreign minister also called on the Iraqi judiciary official to finalize their actions regarding the case of anti-terror commanders General Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi Muhandis who were assassinated by US forces in January 2020.

Zidane, for his part, explained the inclusive judicial measures by the Iraqi side to issue an indictment against the perpetrators and orchestrators of the assassination, noting that Iraq is determined to put those who did the attack on trial.

Furthermore, the top Iranian diplomat held another meeting with Hadi al-Amiri, head of the Fatah (Conquest) Alliance, where the two sides discussed a range of issues of mutual interest.

"Future is bright and the best will come by the grace of God and efforts of all of us," Amir-Abdollahian later wrote in a post on his Twitter account.

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