Iran to Increase Cooperation with Iraq to Confront Separatism

"The Islamic Republic of Iran is opposed to separatism in Iraq and distortion of the country's borders and we consider the separatist stream as harmful to the regional security and don’t spare any efforts to safeguard the regional countries' territorial integrity and stability and today that this destructive stream has been formed in Iraq, we will certainly have more extensive cooperation with that country to confront such moves," General Hatami said, addressing a ceremony in Tehran on Tuesday.

Noting that attempts to disintegrate the regional countries is the other side of the coin of terrorism, he said that the countries and regimes which have organized the terrorist groups in the region are now supporting secession.

"The executors of disintegration in Iraq should know that they are certainly playing in the US and the Zionist regime's court because the regional countries need tranquility, security and stability and any move against the will of the people in the regional states is doomed to failure," General Hatami said.

In relevant remarks last Saturday, Deputy Chief of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazzayeri announced that the Iranian and Iraqi military forces will stage joint wargames at the borders of the two countries.

Joint military drills will be held by the Iranian Armed Forces and certain units of the Iraqi Army at the joint borders and bordering points, including Qasr-e Shirin to Parviz Khan, Bashmaq in Marivan and Tamarchin in Piranshahr in the next few days, General Jazzayeri said.

He added that the wargames will be staged in line with Iran's declared policy of respecting Iraq's integrity and safeguarding its territorial integrity and at the demand of the Iraqi government for Iran's cooperation in establishment of the central government's sovereignty at the two countries' common borders.

After the recent independence referendum in the Kurdistan region, Iraq's Army Chief of Staff Othman al-Ghanemi visited Tehran to meet with the high-ranking Iranian officials.

In a meeting with al-Ghanemi in Tehran last Wednesday, Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri dismissed the results of independence referendum in the Iraqi Kurdistan region, stressing that his country only recognizes the vote and views of the entire Iraqi nation.

Geographical changes in the region and secession of a part of Iraq is not acceptable and Iran only accepts an integrated Iraq and the vote of all Iraqi nation, General Baqeri said.

"Iran’s common borders with Iraq would remain the same as mentioned by the prime minister of Iraq’s legitimate government and Iran does not accept ruling of any party in that country,” he said.

"Our friends from Army’s Joint Staff and Iraq’s operational units would visit common border areas and discuss further details,” General Baqeri said.

General al-Ghanemi, for his part, said that given the present regional situation, Iraq needs Iran’s help, lauding Iran for its support for Iraq in all difficult times.

Noting that most of the occupied territories have been liberated from the enemies, he said that only two percent or less have remained to be released and they will been purged from terrorists with Iran’s assistance.