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Tehran: Baghdad Has Until September to Disarm Kurdish Opposition Parties

Bagheri speaks to the Iranian state television in Mashhad on Tuesday (Iranian TV)
Bagheri speaks to the Iranian state television in Mashhad on Tuesday (Iranian TV)
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Tehran: Baghdad Has Until September to Disarm Kurdish Opposition Parties

Bagheri speaks to the Iranian state television in Mashhad on Tuesday (Iranian TV)
Bagheri speaks to the Iranian state television in Mashhad on Tuesday (Iranian TV)

Chief of Staff of Iran’s armed forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri said on Tuesday that the Iraqi government has until September to disarm Kurdish opposition groups based in the Kurdistan Region, threatening to use military action if Baghdad fails to meet the deadline.

“If the deadline passes and they remain armed or carry out any operation, our operations against those groups will definitely reoccur more severely,” Bagheri told the state television. “Armed secessionist groups exist in northern Iraq, which causes insecurity at our borders.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s Mehr news agency said Bagheri blamed some neighboring countries for failing to “favorably” fulfill their commitments to ensuring border security.

Speaking at an annual conference attended by ground force commanders of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in the northeastern city of Mashhad, he said a number of armed separatist groups in northern Iraq have caused some insecurities along the common border with Iran.

Bagheri said that Tehran had suspended cross-border strikes after Baghdad agreed to a September deadline to disarm the Kurdish opposition groups and secure the border regions.

Iran accuses Kurdish opposition groups based in the Kurdistan Region of fueling the nationwide protest movement in Iran last September and inciting unrest in the country.

In March, the Iraqi and Iranian governments signed a border protection deal in Baghdad, that includes coordination in protecting the common borders in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

In May, IRGC sent heavy weapons and additional personnel to the border, while sources said they are preparing to launch artillery into Iraqi Kurdistan.

Following the announcement, Iraqi National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji rushed to Tehran, where he met with Ali Akbar Ahmadian, the new secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

The two sides discussed the security agreement signed between both countries.

The Supreme National Security Council of Iran has handled sensitive files related to some neighboring countries, including the Iraq file, since 2003.

The Council is the highest security apparatus in the country, and its decisions are approved by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

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Taiwan Demonstrates Sea Defenses against Potential Chinese Attack as Tensions Rise with Beijing

A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
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Taiwan Demonstrates Sea Defenses against Potential Chinese Attack as Tensions Rise with Beijing

A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO

Taiwan on Thursday demonstrated its sea defenses against a potential Chinese attack as tensions rise with Beijing, part of a multitiered strategy to deter an invasion from the mainland.
The island’s navy highlighted its Kuang Hua VI fast attack missile boats and Tuo Chiang-class corvettes in waters near Taiwan’s largest port of Kaohsiung, a major hub for international trade considered key to resupplying Chinese forces should they establish a beachhead on the island.
The Kuang Hua VI boats, with a crew of 19, carry indigenously developed Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles and displayed their ability to take to the sea in an emergency to intercept enemy ships about to cross the 44-kilometer (24-nautical mile) limit of Taiwan’s contiguous zone, within which governments are permitted to take defensive action.
China routinely sends ships and planes to challenge Taiwan’s willingness and ability to counter intruders, prompting Taiwan to scramble jets, activate missile systems and dispatch warships. Taiwan demanded on Wednesday that China end its ongoing military activity in nearby waters, which it said is undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and disrupting international shipping and trade.
Mountainous Taiwan's strategy is to counter the much larger Chinese military with a relatively flexible defense that can prevent Chinese troops from crossing the strait. Landing sites are few on Taiwan's west coast facing China, forcing Beijing to focus on the east coast.
Hsiao Shun-ming, captain of a Tuo Chiang-class corvette, said his ship’s relatively small size still allows it to “deliver a formidable competitive power” against larger Chinese ships. The Tuo Chiang has a catamaran design and boasts high speeds and considerable stealth ability.
Taiwan has in recent years reinvigorated its domestic defense industry, although it still relies heavily on US technology such as upgraded fighter jets, missiles, tanks and detection equipment. US law requires it to consider threats to the island as matters of “grave concern,” and American and allied forces are expected to be a major factor in any conflict.
Thursday's exercise “demonstrates the effectiveness of asymmetric warfare, and Taiwan’s commitment to defense self-reliance,” said Chen Ming-feng, rear admiral and commander of the navy’s 192 Fleet specializing in mine detection. “We are always ready to respond quickly and can handle any kind of maritime situation.”
China's authoritarian one-party Communist government has refused almost all communication with Taiwan's pro-independence governments since 2016, and some in Washington and elsewhere say Beijing is growing closer to taking military action.
China considers Taiwan a part of its territory, to be brought under its control by force if necessary, while most Taiwanese favor their de facto independence and democratic status.