Deputy Top Commander: Iran, Iraq to Stage Joint Military Drills at Borders

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 on 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.
 [farsnews.com]
 30/9/17