Iran will not tolerate hostile activity in Iraq’s Kurdistan, IRGC commander says
A senior commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has warned that Iran will not tolerate any hostile activity originating from the territory of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region.
Brigadier General Amanollah Gashtaspi, commander of the IRGC’s Hamzeh Seyyed al-Shohada Headquarters in north-western Iran, said on Wednesday that Tehran maintains good relations with the Kurdistan Regional Government but will act decisively if the region allows groups or individuals to use its territory for activities against Iran, Iran’s English-language Press TV reports.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has no problem with the [Kurdistan] Region, but the region must not allow its territory to be used against our country,” Gashtaspi stressed at a press conference in the north-western city of Urmia.
He emphasised that the Iranian armed forces would not allow what he described as hostile groups to operate near the country’s borders, adding that regional entities and governments must also stop supporting or co-operating with Iran’s enemies or face serious consequences.
According to Press TV, Gashtaspi’s remarks came months after US and Israeli officials acknowledged providing weapons and funding to Kurdish groups that Tehran describes as terrorist organisations opposed to Iran during a joint US-Israeli war against the country.
The officials reportedly acknowledged that the assistance was intended to help the groups foment violence and insurgency inside Iran during the conflict.
Iran has taken a hard line against armed activity near its borders, particularly in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, where it has carried out air strikes against what it describes as terrorist groups and their positions, Press TV noted.
Gashtaspi pointed out that the IRGC, working with Iranian border guards and police, had foiled attempts to smuggle equipment and ammunition across the border into Iran in an effort to create insecurity inside the country.
“We will not allow the enemy to exploit the potential that exists along the border to transfer weapons and ammunition and undermine the country’s security,” the commander said.
Gashtaspi, who commands IRGC units in Iran’s West Azerbaijan and Kurdistan provinces, also praised Iranian citizens living in border areas for their support for the country’s stability and security.