On Tuesday, the Iraqi Ministry of Defense rejected statements made by the Chief of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri , regarding the presence of “hostile movements” from Iraqi territory towards Iran.
The Iraqi Army Chief of Staff said in a statement: “We express our surprise at the unjustified statements recently attributed to the Chief of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, regarding the presence of hostile movements from Iraqi territory towards the Iranian Republic.”
The statement added that Iraq “strongly rejects the use of its territory for aggression against its neighbors and that it adheres to good neighborliness and fraternal relations with neighboring countries, and the need for everyone to adhere to the language of brotherhood and cooperation in joint relations.”
And last Sunday, Bagheri said that “anti-Iranian terrorist groups are active in the Kurdistan region of Iraq due to the lack of consideration by the region’s authorities, and the weakness of the central Iraqi government due to the US military presence.”
He pointed out, in statements reported by Iranian media, that “these groups, after years of failure and retreat, have been active during the past year at the instigation of America, Israel and some reactionary Arab countries in the region (he did not name them).”
He added that these groups “began their attempts to expand their terrorist operations, and although they have not yet been able to achieve what they want, they are working to disrupt security in some border areas, and this will not be allowed by Iran.”
Washington, which is leading an international coalition in Iraq, accuses Iraqi armed factions linked to Iran of being behind attacks targeting their convoys and some of their headquarters.
