Peregraf
Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, arrived in Baghdad on Monday for talks aimed at strengthening security cooperation between Iraq and Iran, according to Iranian state media. His trip is part of a regional tour that will also take him to Lebanon.
“Iraq is our friend and neighbor, and we enjoy close trade relations,” Larijani said before departing Tehran, adding that bilateral cooperation “is at a very good level.”
Upon arrival, Larijani was received by Iraq’s National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji. He said the visit would include meetings with “many friends in Iraq from various authorities and movements” and that a new agreement would be signed during the trip.
The visit comes after the two countries signed a security pact in March 2023, under which Baghdad pledged to disarm Iranian Kurdish opposition groups based in the Kurdistan Region and relocate them to designated camps. The agreement was reached with the participation of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Interior Minister and has since been implemented.
Tehran accuses groups such as the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), Komala, the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), and the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) of fomenting unrest during Iran’s 2022 protests. These groups, long engaged in sporadic conflict with the Islamic Republic, seek greater rights for Iran’s Kurdish minority.