Iraq will redeploy federal troops along its borders with Iran and Turkey
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Roshan Amiri
- . November 24, 2022
- . Update: November 24, 2022 3:24 pm
Iraq has said it will redeploy federal guards along its border with the Islamic Republic of Iran and Turkey. This comes after a series of airstrikes by the two countries against opposition groups in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region that affected the area’s security.
The authorities in Iraq held a government security meeting. Prime Minister of Iraq, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, was also present at the meeting. Subsequently, the authorities decided to redeploy Iraqi border guards along the border with Iran and Turkey.
A statement was issued after the meeting that Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani oversaw. According to the statement, the initiative would be carried out “in coordination with the government of the Kurdistan region and the peshmerga ministry.” The statement referred to the Kurdish regional forces.
The peshmerga currently guards the Iraqi Kurdistan’s borders. They work under the direction of the federal defence ministry in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq.
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According to AFP, the announcement appears to be a response to Iran, which had publicly urged the Iraqi government to deploy border guards at the common border.
Earlier, Iran blamed outside powers and exiled Kurdish groups for stoking the anti-government protests in the country. The Foreign Minister of Iran, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, also warned that Tehran would continue to act against “threats” from foreign countries. He also said that Iranian forces would continue operations inside Iraq’s Kurdistan region until Baghdad’s national forces were deployed on the common border.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani also urged the Iraqi authorities to deploy border guards at the common border.
Earlier this week, a peshmerga delegation met with interior and defence ministry representatives in Baghdad to discuss the current situation. They discussed the strategies to improve border security.
Earlier, Turkey also blamed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) for the bombing in Istanbul on November 13. Reportedly, Turkey also launched a campaign of air strikes targeting Kurdish forces in Iraq on Sunday.
