(Baghdad) Senior Iranian security official Ali Shamkhani on Sunday signed an agreement in Baghdad to “protect the border” between Iran and Iraq, where Iranian Kurdish opposition groups targeted by Tehran are based, said announced the office of the Iraqi Prime Minister.
Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme Security Council, signed an agreement with his Iraqi counterpart Qassem al-Araji that “includes coordination in protecting common borders and consolidating cooperation in multiple security areas”, it said. the services of Mohamed Chia al-Soudani.
The visit comes on the eve of the twentieth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq. Today, ties between Baghdad and Tehran are closer than ever, and Mr. Sudani’s government is backed by a pro-Iran parliamentary coalition.
Some Western capitals, however, warn against too great an influence in Iraq of the Iranian neighbor, which considers the United States as its greatest enemy since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
According to statements reported by the official Iranian agency Irna, Ali Shamkhani on Sunday attacked the “anti-security and vicious activities of counter-revolutionary and terrorist elements in the region [of Iraqi Kurdistan] and northern Iraq. “.
He said the agreement signed on Sunday “can completely and fundamentally end the vicious actions of these groups.”
These factions of the Iranian Kurdish opposition taking refuge in northern Iraq had been bombarded by Iran at the end of 2022, Tehran accusing them of infiltrating its territory to carry out attacks and encourage demonstrations.
The Iraqi government then undertook to redeploy its border guards to limit tensions.
At the time, Iran was rocked by a protest movement sparked by the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, 22, a Kurdish girl arrested by vice squad for allegedly violating the dress code for women.
Iraq was also one of the mediators in talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which severed diplomatic ties in 2016, before announcing their resumption on March 10. A rapprochement of which Ali Shamkhani was the craftsman on the Iranian side.
During his visit to Baghdad, he was accompanied by the governor of the Central Bank and the deputy minister in charge of economic affairs, according to Irna.
Trade is vital for both partners, especially in terms of energy. Iraq is very dependent on gas and electricity from its neighbour.
