Iran's Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)-Ground Force warned that its strikes against the terrorist groups in the Kurdistan region would resume if the Iraqi government failed to meet its commitment to disarm and evict the terrorists.
The Commander of the Ground Force, Brigadier General Mohammed Pakpour, said the Iraqi government has pledged to disarm terrorist groups and expel them.
Speaking in Iran's western city of Sanandaj, Pakpour warned: "We are waiting for the government of Iraq to honor its commitments and offer them an opportunity (to flush out the terrorists). Otherwise, the IRGC's attacks will continue if nothing happens."
Pakpour also said the security situation at the shared borders is "good and stable" throughout the country, especially in the border areas, and "we do not have any problems."
Last year, the IRGC bombed several sites in the Kurdistan region of Iraq after Tehran accused the Kurdish opposition parties of being behind the protests that erupted after the death of the young Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, last September.
Earlier, the Iraqi National Security Adviser, Qassem al-Araji, visited Erbil, where he discussed the security measures between Iraq and Iran.
The media office of the National Security Adviser said that Araij visited Erbil following the directives of Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani, noting that the commander of the border forces presented the measures taken by the Ministry of the Interior to secure the Iraqi Iranian border.
The Minister of the Interior of the region, Rebar Ahmed, presented the procedures taken by his Ministry regarding the provisions of the security record between Iraq and Iran.
Last March, Baghdad and Tehran signed a security memorandum regarding protecting the shared borders and consolidating cooperation in several security fields.
In this context, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader, Mahmoud Khoshnaw, asserted that Iraq and Iran signed a comprehensive security agreement, including border control.
Khoshnaw told Asharq Al-Awsat that many obstacles remain to form joint brigades from the army and the Peshmerga forces, especially in the rugged ground zero, which contains anti-Iran armed groups.
He noted that the groups hostile to Iran do not fall within the region's authority, and it is well known that the Iraqi Iranian-Turkish border is difficult to control.
Khoshnaw added that there is no Iraqi presence in the ground zero areas, noting that armed organizations, whether anti-Iranian or anti-Turkey, are present in these areas, where attacks against the two countries are launched.
The deployment of the armed forces on the border is complex, and therefore it is preferable to resort to rational solutions to this crisis through discussions between the various parties, asserted the official.
Khoshnaw stressed that the Peshmerga forces have limited abilities, making it difficult for them to reach those areas, especially ground zero.
Meanwhile, a source told Asharq Al-Awsat that based on a series of meetings in Baghdad, Sulaymaniyah, and Erbil, officials are formulating a suggestion on dealing with the repeated Iranian attacks that violate Iraq's sovereignty.
He indicated that Araji presented a proposal to Prime Minister Prior before his visit to Tehran, containing a series of Iraqi commitments towards Iran, and in turn, Tehran should pledge not to launch any attacks.
The source noted that the idea has already been proposed, and discussions have begun to reach the final agreed draft through direct coordination between Tehran, Baghdad, and the Kurdistan region.
The document of the joint security agreement, which includes commitments to end Iranian opposition activity inside the region, has been completed with Iran's total commitment to the sovereignty of Iraq.
It also contained a road map to gradually disarm the forces within a time frame because the Iraqi constitution prevents Iraqi territory from being a corridor, headquarters, or starting point for groups that threaten neighboring countries.
According to the source, the proposals ended with the agreement signed in Baghdad between Araji and Iran's Supreme National Security Council secretary, Ali Shamkhani, in the presence of the Iraqi Prime Minister.
