Iran and Iraq recently signed a border security agreement to protect their shared border and deepen security cooperation. The agreement reportedly affirms Iraq’s efforts to prevent its Kurdish regions from being used to launch attacks on Iran. The agreement comes against the backdrop of increasing tensions in recent months along the shared border area with Iran targeting Kurdish opposition groups based in Iraq for their alleged instigation of the current protests in Iran.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani and Iraq’s National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji signed the security agreement in Baghdad in the presence of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. Iran’s Central Bank Governor Mohammed Reza Farzin and other Foreign Ministry officials also accompanied Shamkhani to Baghdad and the meetings touched upon recent economic, security and political developments and complexities between the two countries.
Iraqi Kurdish authorities have expressed concern over the security situation on the shared border with Iran and have spoken about their military limitations in the face of escalating tensions. The Peshmerga lack the necessary military resources to contain cross-border attacks. Last year, Masrour Barzani, the prime minister of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, condemned Iranian cross-border shelling and called for restraint. Recently, the President of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Masoud Barzani during an interview dismissed the Iranian claims that the government of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is complicit in the attacks launched from Iraq and added that the Kurdistan region is not a “part of the skirmishes or settling scores with Iran.”
The recent security agreement will enable Iran to accelerate its efforts to contain Kurdish opposition groups based in northern Iraq. The operations of Kurdish opposition groups have been difficult to contain as they move from one location to another, especially the operations carried out by the Komala Party. The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Freedom Party headquartered in northern Iraq had earlier lost several fighters and suffered damage because of Iranian shelling. During a recent interview, Abdullah Azarbar, a member of the Politburo of the Komala Party, said that Iran uses several means to target his party. Azarbar noted that Iran also uses “political pressure to try to push both the Kurdistan Regional Government in Erbil and also the Iraqi government in Baghdad to prevent us from being based here. Of the two, the pressure we have received from Baghdad is the strongest.” Iran’s authorities have repeatedly targeted Kurdish areas in northern Iraq claiming that they pose an imminent threat to Iranian national security. Furthermore, Iran has alleged that there are links between Kurdish opposition groups and Mossad, Israeli’s spy agency.
Several factors are important in understanding Iran’s approach and motivation behind signing the security agreement with Iraq. Firstly, the agreement reflects Iran’s influence in Iraqi politics, especially as the ruling coalition now largely encompasses pro-Iranian political parties. Iraqi dependence on Iran has reduced the strategic autonomy of Iraq considerably, however, this has not prevented Baghdad from reaching out to the Gulf states which has been a cause of concern for Tehran. Secondly, the border between Iran and Iraq is very porous and Iraq has not been able to control this area. The recent agreement will likely bring both countries together to address the border concern, thereby minimizing the possibility of further problems and clashes over cross-border movements, an important priority for Iran. Thirdly, Iran has also been keen on striking important deals with the Iraqi government in recent months and increasing bilateral cooperation. During the fifth Iran-Iraq Joint Economic Commission that was held on March 12 in Baghdad, Iran and Iraq signed deals to launch joint industrial towns aimed at increasing economic and commercial cooperation between both countries. Tehran intends to further deepen its engagement with Baghdad as well as utilize its political clout to mediate between Baghdad and Erbil. Fourthly, Iran has often cited the tensions along the shared border with Iraq as an orchestrated external effort to threaten Iranian sovereignty. The security agreement can be seen as a reflection of Tehran’s fears and a continuity of its security perception. Ever since the protests in Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini broke out, the IRGC has targeted the headquarters of Kurdish opposition groups in northern Iraq and Tehran confirmed that the cross-border attacks have been in response to the “illegal entry of the armed teams linked with the Kurdish terrorist groups.” Iran’s Permanent Mission to the UN also recently said that diplomacy has failed in deterring the security threats and Iran has no other option but to use military force against Kurdish opposition groups.
