TEHRAN – The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ second-in-command has warned Kurdish officials against loose commitment to security issues, days after terrorist cells were smashed in northwestern Iran by IRGC patrol units.

Addressing Friday prayers at the University of Tehran, Brigadier General Hossein Salami said on Friday that Iran will carry out operation beyond borders if necessary.

“I warn the officials of northern Iraq adhere to their commitments as the Islamic Republic will crush threats regardless of geographical considerations.”

The remarks comes days after media outlets quoted the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kurdistan Region as having demanded an end to the bombardment of the region’s border areas by Iran and Turkey.

“In the last few days the border areas of the Kurdistan Region were bombarded by the Islamic Republic and Republic of Turkey which resulted in wounding a number of people and dozens of villagers were forced to flee their villages,” the Kurdistan Region cabinet of ministers had said in the statement. 

The IRGC commander linked the terrorist attempts with some regional countries which seek to trigger insecurity in Iran, recommending them not “play with the lion’s tail.”

Western and eastern borders of Iran have been a hotbed for terrorist activities, mainly influenced by weak border monitoring of neighboring countries, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq. 

IRGC second-in-chief warns the officials of northern Iraq adhere to their commitments, saying the Islamic Republic will crush threats regardless of geographical considerations. 

Only over the past two weeks, IRGC combat and intelligence officers had killed dozens of terrorists, seeking sabotage inside the country.

On June 13, IRGC announced its forces had killed five members of the Party for Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK) in the northwestern border city of Sardasht.

In another clash in southern city of Khash on June 13, Iranian police forces killed five members of a terrorist group which is an offshoot of Jaish ul-Adl.

Also, on June 28, a top IRGC commander said 11 members of an anti-revolutionary cell had been smashed in Sarvabad County in the western province of Kurdistan.

The county also foiled one of the biggest terrorist plots ever being hatched in June.

According to a statement by Iran’s Intelligence Ministry on June 20, it had foiled one of the “biggest terrorist plots of Takfiri-Wahhabi groups” in Tehran and some other cities.

Later details showed Iranian security forces has apprehended 10 Takfiri terrorists in Tehran and three other central provinces, planning “remote control bombings, suicide attacks, and car bombings” in several busy locations.

Also, during the operations, security forces identified 50 bombing locations, confiscated over 100 kilograms of explosives, and stopped the delivery of at least two tons of explosive materials to the terrorists in the country, said Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi.

AK/PA