FM Spox: Attack on Mossad Aimed at Punishing Iran Security Disruptors

By Staff, Agencies

The Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson said Iran's recent attack on the Mossad center in Erbil was a punishment against the aggressors against Iran's national security and not against Iraq.

Senior Iranian diplomat Nasser Kanaani made the remarks while speaking at his weekly press conference on Monday morning.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards [IRG] said on January 16 that it had fired barrages of ballistic missiles at Syrian bases of terrorists involved in recent terrorist attacks in Iran, as well as an “Israeli” espionage center in the Iraqi Kurdistan region.

The IRG said the first missile strike targeted gathering places of commanders and main elements of recent terrorist attacks in the Iranian cities of Kerman and Rask. It said in a later statement that a missile strike had been launched at a main espionage center of the “Israeli” regime’s Mossad spy agency in the Iraqi Kurdistan. The strike destroyed the Mossad center, it said.

Referring to the IRG attack on the Mossad espionage center in Erbil and the level of Iran-Iraq security agreement implementation, he stated that Iran's relations with the Iraqi government are strong and stable and the two countries have comprehensive cooperation in various fields of interest.

Kanaani noted that despite Iran's good relations and cooperation with the Kurdistan region of Iraq, unfortunately, there have been objective threats to the national security and the security of Iranian citizens from this region for so many years.

Iran's government and armed forces will not be indifferent to providing security and defending the security of their citizens as they have always acted in this regard, he said, emphasizing that national and border security and the security of Iranian citizens is Iran's red line.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson noted that Iran has been the biggest defender and supporter of Iraq's security, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity, stressing that Iran has proven its commitment to Iraq's security and support for the Iraqi government and its citizens.

Iran's action against the Mossad terrorist organization affiliated with the Zionist regime is aimed at punishing the aggressors of Iran's security, and not an action against Iraq, the Iraqi government, and the Kurdistan Region or an attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of this country, he stated.

Kanaani added that Iran has a clear position regarding Iraq and Iran repeatedly has given the necessary warnings to the authorities of the friendly and brotherly country of Iraq in the framework of security and intelligence cooperation between the two sides.

Regarding Iran and Pakistan relations and the return of the two countries' ambassadors, he stated that the military and security officials of the two countries discussed terrorist groups on both sides of the Iran-Pakistan border have been between the military and security officials of the two countries.

Countering terrorist groups and creating security on the two borders will be the long-term goal of the two countries to promote cooperation, he said.

He continued that Iran and Pakistan's relationship is strong, and action against a terrorist group with numerous records of terrorist and criminal activities against the Iranian nation and armed forces and law enforcement has been carried out in the framework of protecting the security of Iran's citizens and security facilities, adding that it was due to an immediate necessity to prevent another anti-security action by this terrorist movement.

Kanaani went on to say that the two countries emphasize respecting each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, stressing that the security of the two countries depends on each other and terrorism is a common danger.

The two countries agree on the common fight against terrorism and the threat of terrorism, and the recent incident will not diminish the strength of the relations between the two countries, he said.

Both sides emphasized their determination to resume the activities of the ambassadors and the two foreign ministers had a telephone conversation regarding this matter, Kanaani added.