Iraq and Iran Sign Border Security Pact Amid Tensions Over Kurdish Opposition Groups

Iran and Iraq have signed a comprehensive security pact that covers intelligence sharing, joint patrols, and counter-smuggling operations along their shared border.

The agreement was inked on August 11 in Baghdad by Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani and Iraq's National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji, with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani looking on.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) outlines a framework for several concrete security initiatives between Tehran and Baghdad, including intelligence sharing, coordinated joint patrols, and operations targeting smuggling routes that crisscross the lengthy frontier.

A central concern driving the agreement is the presence of armed Iranian Kurdish opposition groups operating from Iraqi territory, particularly from Iraq's Kurdistan Region. Iran has long accused these groups of using Iraqi soil as a staging ground for attacks, which have occasionally escalated into Iranian cross-border military strikes.