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Iraq, Iran in Show of Force on Kurdistan Border

Iraq and Iran kicked off joint military drills near the Iraqi Kurdistan border. (AFP)
Iraq and Iran kicked off joint military drills near the Iraqi Kurdistan border. (AFP)
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Iraq, Iran in Show of Force on Kurdistan Border

Iraq and Iran kicked off joint military drills near the Iraqi Kurdistan border. (AFP)
Iraq and Iran kicked off joint military drills near the Iraqi Kurdistan border. (AFP)

Iranian and Iraqi forces kicked off on Monday joint military drills near the Iraqi Kurdistan Region border, announced an Iraqi Kurdish official.

Shwan Abu Bakr, the Kurdish customs chief at the Bashmakh border post, said: “The Iranian and Iraqi forces launched the exercises 250 meters away from the Kurdistan border.”

The development comes a week after Kurdistan Iraq voted in an independence referendum that has been rejected by Baghdad, Tehran and Ankara.

"Iraqi forces are dressed in black and there is a large number of Iranian forces," Abu Bakr added according to Agence France Presse.

The black uniforms indicate that the Iraqi forces were from the country's elite Counter Terrorism Service.

The customs chief also noted armored vehicles and tanks and infantry units taking part in the military drills.

The Iranian military on its website announced joint military exercises with units of the Iraqi army involving armor and artillery units, as well as drones and other air units.

It appeared the maneuvers were the first joint military exercises between Iran and Iraq since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution.

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Türkiye Renews Support for Political Solution, Dialogue between Damascus, Syria Opposition

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan meets with the Syrian opposition delegation in Ankara. (Turkish Foreign Minister)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan meets with the Syrian opposition delegation in Ankara. (Turkish Foreign Minister)
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Türkiye Renews Support for Political Solution, Dialogue between Damascus, Syria Opposition

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan meets with the Syrian opposition delegation in Ankara. (Turkish Foreign Minister)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan meets with the Syrian opposition delegation in Ankara. (Turkish Foreign Minister)

Türkiye reiterated its commitment to a comprehensive political solution to the crisis in Syria, backing dialogue and negotiations between the Damascus regime and opposition.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held talks in Ankara on Thursday with leaders of the Syrian opposition.

The officials discussed the current developments in Syria and efforts to restore relations between Ankara and Damascus to the way they were before the eruption of the crisis in 2011.

In a post on the X platform, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Fidan met with head of the National Coalition for the Forces of the Revolution and Syrian Opposition Hadi al-Bahra, head of the negotiations committee Nader Jamous and Prime Minister of the interim government Abdulrahman Mustafa.

Fidan stressed to his guests Türkiye’s support for realistic and purposeful dialogue and negotiations that would pave the way for a comprehensive political solution based on United Nations Security Council resolution 2254.

The FM said last week that “reconciliation with the opposition is the Syrian government’s problem and duty.”

Türkiye encourages meetings between the government and opposition, but it cannot force the opposition to do so, he added.

“We want the government to sit with the opposition, assess the problems and kick off negotiations to reach a solution,” he remarked.

He stressed that it is “impossible” to ignore the opposition.

Russia, meanwhile, is intensifying its efforts for Türkiye and Syria to normalize relations.

Fidan met with the opposition days after Russian presidential envoy to Syria Alexander Lavrentiev visited Ankara for talks on the Syrian crisis.

He met with deputy Turkish Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz on Saturday as part of consultations over Syria.

Lavrentiev had visited Damascus on June 26 for talks with President Bashar al-Assad. Talks covered restoring ties with Ankara back to the way they were before the crisis erupted.

Assad was receptive to the proposals to that end.