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19-09-2021
TEHRAN: Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri warned on Sunday that the military strikes against terrorist groups stationed in northern Iraq that have been in progress over the past two weeks will remain in place and may even expand.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Major General Baqeri blamed the Kurdistan Regional Government’s insufficient attention and the Iraqi government’s weaknesses caused by the presence of Americans for the activities of the armed anti-Iranian groups in northern Iraq.
Pointing to the recent strikes that Iran has launched against the strongholds of terrorists in northern Iraq, the top commander vowed that the Iranian Armed Forces will annihilate those terrorist groups by proceeding with the operations that have been carried out over the past two weeks in collaboration with and under the supervision of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).
“It is the Iranian nation’s legal and logical right to enjoy safe and calm borders,” the general added.
He said the KRG and the Baghdad government officials have already been recommended that the presence of the terrorist groups must be terminated and their activities must be prevented, but these warnings, recommendations and requests have unfortunately gone unheeded for years.
“Therefore, if the presence of them (terrorist groups) and their evil acts continue, we will annihilate them by repeating and expanding our operations, until they bail out completely and leave,” the top commander warned.
Major General Baqeri said the notorious terrorist groups have suffered defeats for years, but they have sought to enhance terrorist operations in recent years under the influence of the US, the Zionist regime and certain reactionary Arab states.
The terrorists have been unable to carry out any successful operation, however, they have caused insecurity and concerns in some border regions of Iran, he noted, stressing that Iran would not tolerate such mischievous measures by any means.
The general emphasized that Iraq and the KRG should prevent the mercenaries of the US and Israel and the armed anti-Iranian groups from setting up training bases, radio and TV stations and bases in northern Iraq or hold congresses and military training courses, attack Iranian border regions, and assassinate Iranian forces. “These are unacceptable to us.”
He explained that Iran has no problem with the political activities in northern Iraq, as the Islamic Republic itself has hundreds of political parties, many of which may have disagreement with the administrations, but they are free to engage in political activities according to the Iranian Constitution “but we could not tolerate armed activities and will definitely take action against them,” the general stated.
On the recent attacks on terrorists in northern Iraq, the general said Iran has full intelligence dominance and has destroyed the command centers of a number of those terrorist groups with pinpoint accuracy in operations with prior warning.
He said Iran had informed the terrorists of the military strikes, because it did not mean to inflict human losses at the first step.
“From now on, if such activities and the presence of terrorist groups continue (in northern Iraq), they will certainly face the Islamic Republic’s extensive military activities,” Major General Baqeri concluded.
On September 9, the IRGC Ground Force launched drone and artillery attacks against the strongholds of terrorists harbored in the northern parts of Iraq.
The IRGC employed combat and suicide drones in the operation, as its smart artillery units with pinpoint accuracy have targeted the positions of the terrorist groups with high precision, a statement said.
During a visit to the IRGC military bases in Iran’s northwestern border areas earlier in September, IRGC Ground Force Commander Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour had given a warning to the armed terrorist groups which take advantage of the northern parts of Iraq in the Kurdistan Region to upset the security of Iran’s border areas.
“We cannot tolerate the continuation of such conditions and will give the necessary response to the terrorists,” the general warned. (Tasnim News)
