The armed forces of Iran and neighboring Iraq plan to hold joint military exercises in the coming days, the deputy chairman of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces announced.
Speaking to Tasnim News Agency on Saturday, Lieutenant General Masoud Jazayeri said the commanders of Iran’s Armed Forces held a meeting on Saturday chaired by the military chief, Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri.
“In the session, the territorial integrity of Iraq and the illegality of the recent independence referendum in Iraq’s Kurdistan were highlighted,” he said.
Jazayeri said decisions were taken to establish security along the common border and cooperate with the forces of Iraq’s central government deployed along the border.
“It was also agreed that the Iranian Armed Forces and some units of the Iraqi Army hold war games along the border in the coming days,” he said.
The Iraqi Kurdistan Region went ahead with its plan to hold the referendum on Monday while Iraq and its neighbors Iran and Turkey had voiced opposition to such a move and supported the Baghdad central government.
