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Iran stresses urgency of implementing security agreement with Iraq

Oct. 21, 2025 • 2 min read
Image of Iran stresses urgency of implementing security agreement with Iraq Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji (left) meeting with Iranian Parliament Speaker Bagher Ghalibaf (right) in Tehran on October 21, 2025. Photo: IRNA

Iraq and Iran in August signed a security memorandum "concerning security coordination along the shared borders between the two countries."

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - In a meeting with Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji on Tuesday in Tehran, Iranian Parliament Speaker Bagher Ghalibaf urged Baghdad to immediately implement a bilateral security agreement, stressing the accord was a serious move toward creating "sustainable security" for the region

 

Ghalibaf stressed the necessity of implementing the security agreement signed between the two countries, adding that "this Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) outlines the beginning of a serious move to create sustainable security with a long horizon for both countries and the region," the state-owned IRNA news agency reported.

 

He further noted that the MoU is aimed “to achieve greater stability” in various areas and that the relations between the two countries will “deepen compared to the past.”

 

"We believe that the security of Iran and the security of Iraq are intertwined, and we adhere to the security agreement we signed with Tehran, and we emphasize the need to continue the talks," IRNA quoted Araji as saying.

 

In August, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani oversaw the signing of a joint security MoU between Araji and Iranian Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani, “concerning security coordination along the shared borders between the two countries.”

 

Kurdistan Region Interior Minister Reber Ahmed was also present at Tuesday's meeting, asserting that Erbil will not allow its soil to be used as a launching pad for attacks on Iran and stressing the positive bilateral relations between the two sides.

 

In March 2023, Iraq and Iran signed a security agreement under which Baghdad pledged to disarm Kurdish opposition groups and tighten control along the shared border, with Tehran warning of military action should the agreement not be effectively implemented. 

 

The US has expressed concern over the August MoU and the Iraqi parliament’s continued push to pass the controversial Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) bill—heavily opposed by Washington.

 

US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce in August said: “We support genuine Iraqi sovereignty, not legislation that would turn Iraq into an Iranian satellite state.”

 

The US State Department in mid-September designated several prominent PMF factions, namely, Harakat al-Nujaba, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, and Kataib al-Imam Ali, as foreign terrorist organizations, accusing Iran of providing support that “enables these militias to plan, facilitate, or directly carry out attacks across Iraq.”

 

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