ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Tehran told Baghdad to “exercise sovereignty” over Iraqi territory and to not allow it to be used to “violate” Iran, during a meeting that took place between Iranian and Iraqi officials last week, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday.
Speaking during his weekly press briefing, foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani told reporters that the bombardment in the Kurdistan Region by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was “done based on previous official, transparent measures, noting that the attacks targeted the headquarters of armed secessionist groups.”
Following the meeting that took place in Baghdad last week, Kanaani added that it expects “Baghdad to exercise sovereignty over all Iraqi soil and not let some of its soil be used to violate Iran’s borders.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) showered with ballistic missiles and suicide drones last month bases of Kurdish opposition groups in the Kurdistan Region under the pretext of fueling protest across the country.
The attacks by the IRGC, according to an initial tally obtained from the Kurdish health ministry, killed 16 people and wounded over 50 others with the toll expected to increase.
The IRGC in a statement confirmed the use of drones and missiles in the attacks, saying the operations will continue until all bases of Iranian-Kurdish opposition groups are dismantled and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) fulfilling its duty in doing so.
Nationwide protests erupted in Iran on September 16, condemning the suspicious death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini while in police custody. The Oslo-based Iran Human Rights Organization (IHR) said on Friday that at least 185 people have been killed during the demonstrations.
Iranian-Kurdish opposition groups based in the Kurdistan Region have waged an on-and-off armed war against the Iranian government since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
By Klawdia Martani
