Mission to UN: Iran Left with No Option But to Use Military Force Against Terrorists in Iraq's Kurdistan

 

The country, it added, “has recently launched necessary and proportionate military operations against terrorist groups’ bases in the Iraqi Kurdistan region, which was meticulously planned and precisely targeted on terrorist locations".

 

It said that Iran has for years been a target of terrorist groups based in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, which have recently intensified their activities by illicitly transferring a huge quantity of weapons into Iran to arm their affiliates.

 

According to the letter, the terrorists’ operations resulted in a number of civilian casualties, vandalism, and destruction of public and private property.

 

It noted Iran has shared “irrefutable evidence and credible information” with the Central government in Iraq and authorities from the Kurdistan Region about the use of the Arab country's territory by terrorist and separatist groups to “plan, support, organize and carry out terrorist and subversive acts” against the Islamic Republic.

 

It added that Iran has held several rounds of bilateral consultations and negotiations with officials from the Iraqi government and the authorities of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, including a recent visit to Tehran last month by the advisor for Iraqi National Security.

 

During these talks, the letter said, Iran has requested the extradition of those who committed terrorist crimes and were convicted by Iranian courts, as well as the closure of the headquarters and training camps of such terrorist groups, and the disarming of their elements.

 

“Iran has also underlined the need of stationing Iraqi military forces along its borders. The Iraqi delegation agreed to the requests and also committed to developing a timeframe for completing the disarmament of such terrorist groups,” it emphasized.

 

The mission expressed regret that no effective measures have been taken so far to fulfill such agreements and said Iran has persistently stated its willingness to implement the aforesaid agreements, but to no avail.

 

The mission voiced Iran's unwavering commitment to address this issue with Iraq through bilateral mechanisms as a part of its ongoing fight against terrorism.

 

The foreign ministers of the two countries have emphasized “respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq, the need to combat terrorism in accordance with international obligations, and the importance of bilateral cooperation in addressing the challenges posed by terrorist activities”, it said.

 

“The Islamic Republic of Iran values highly the security and stability of Iraq and reiterates, once again, its commitment to the territorial integrity, unity, and sovereignty of the Republic of Iraq,” the letter pointed out.

 

Since late September, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has launched a series of aerial operations on the headquarters of Iraqi Kurdistan-based terrorist groups. The military operation came after the illegal entry of armed teams linked with the Kurdish terrorist groups into the Iranian border cities in recent months.

 

The IRGC Ground Force has announced that the operations against terror bases will continue until all anti-Iran separatist and terrorist outfits holed up in the rugged mountainous area lay down their arms and surrender.

 

The Iranian Armed Forces, specially the IRGC, have repeatedly warned that they will never tolerate the presence and activity of terrorist groups along the Northwestern border and will give strong and decisive responses in case of anti-security activities.

 

The IRGC has on countless occasions attacked and destroyed terrorist hideouts in the Kurdistan region with artillery fire, missiles and drones.

 

Military officials warn of Tehran’s continued attacks against the strongholds of anti-revolutionary groups in the region, specially the Iraqi Kurdistan region. They threatened the Americans that their bases in the region should also be abolished and not be used as an anti-revolutionary center.