Iranian-Iraqi Joint Military Drills along Kurdistan Border
Local Editor
Iranian Deputy Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri unveiled on Saturday that his country and Iraq will hold joint military exercises along their border with the Kurdistan region in the coming days.
According to the Iranian military chief, this step comes in line with Tehran's policy to support Baghdad's central government, after the recent independence referendum in the semi-autonomous region.
"The joint drills, [dubbed] Eqtedar [Strength], will be held by Iran's Armed Forces and units of the Iraqi army along the two countries' joint borders," Jazayeri stated.
In defiance of Iraq's stiff opposition, the Kurdistan Regional Government [KRG] held a non-binding referendum on September 25 on secession from the central government in Baghdad.
Major regional and international parties have voiced serious concern over the secessionist move, saying it would compound the problems of the country, which is already busy with counterterrorism operations against Daesh.
Jazayeri further said high-ranking commanders of Iran's Armed Forces held a meeting, chaired by Chairman of the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri, earlier in the day to discuss the Iraqi government's official requests from Tehran in the wake of the referendum.
He added that the meeting was "in line with the declared policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran to help safeguard Iraq's solidarity and territorial integrity and following a request by the central Iraqi government for cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran on the establishment of the central government's authority on the two countries' border terminals."
Jazayeri emphasized that participants at the meeting once again stressed the importance of safeguarding Iraq's territorial integrity and voiced their opposition to the "illegal" referendum held in the northern Kurdistan region.
They also adopted the "necessary decisions to establish security along borders and receive forces of the Iraqi central government for deployment at border posts," he added.
The Saturday meeting was held three days after the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces and his Iraqi counterpart Major General Othman al-Ghanmi held talks in Tehran.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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