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Deputy Commander for Operations of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Abbas Nilforoushan emphasized that the deadline for the Iraqi government to disarm terrorist groups in the Kurdistan region ends on September 19, 2023.
The deputy commander of the IRGC said in an interview with an Iranian media outlet that ‘we expect from our brothers in the Kurdistan region to show brotherliness, because providing terrorists with safe haven in that region, which has become a source of operations against our country, is not consistent with brotherliness or good neighborliness’.
After uninterrupted negotiations, an agreement with the central government in Baghdad as well as the Kurdistan region was finally signed, and the deadline of the accord to become operational is on September 19 in terms of scheduling and agreed-upon provisions, he argued.
The brigadier general went on to say that ‘we are committed to all the provisions of the agreement, not one word less or one word more; thus, we expect the other party to also abide by the agreement in the same way as the Islamic Republic of Iran has fulfilled its obligations. Otherwise, the situation will come back to its previous state, and we will be forced to protect the interests of the Iranian people, he warned.’
It should be noted that some time ago, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri stated at a meeting with commanders of the Ground Forces of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps that the Iraqi government has time up to September in order to eradicate separatist groups in the Kurdistan region of the Arab country.
Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani also emphasized the seriousness of his government to implement the provisions of the Tehran-Baghdad security agreement completely. He made the remark in a meeting with a delegation of senior managers from Iranian media outlets yesterday.
The Iraqi premier said that for various reasons, we as the Iraqi government feel obligated to address Tehran’s security concerns regarding terrorist activities, which are being committed from the Kurdistan region in Iraq. To this end, they have spent over $200 million on this issue and deployed more than 3,000 National Army forces along Iran’s borders and throughout the region, he noted.
In recent months, senior commanders of the Iranian armed forces have warned the Iraqi government and officials in the Kurdistan region of Iraq about the illegal and terrorist movements of certain outlawed groups.
Given the continued presence of anti-Iran armed groups in the Kurdistan region of Iraq as well as the Iraqi sides’ failure to make proper decisions and implement practical plans to expel or disarm terrorist groups from Iraq’s border areas, the Islamic Republic of reserves its rights to resort to all available capacities to establish security along its western borders after the end of the September 19 deadline.
