TEHRAN - Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali-Akbar Ahmadian and senior Iraqi lawmaker Mohsen Ali Akbar Namdar Al-Mandalawi have discussed security cooperation between the two neighbors.

During a meeting on Monday in Tehran, Ahmadian and Al-Mandalawi exchanged views on a range of issues, including the Gaza war and Tehran-Baghdad ties.

They also spoke about the security agreement that Iran and Iraq signed in March 2023 to combat terrorism and safeguard security along their borders.

The separatist militant groups were using Iran’s borders with the Iraqi Kurdistan to carry out hit-and-run terrorist activities. Those malicious moves have been greatly reduced as Iraq had clamped down on these groups. 

The Iranian official expressed appreciation to the Iraqi government and the Iraqi Kurdistan regional government for their assistance in combatting these terrorist groups.

According to Ahmadian, the adoption of the bilateral security pact as a law by the Iraqi parliament could be a crucial and successful step in establishing long-term security and stability at the borders of the two countries, given the Iraqi constitution’s ban on using Iraqi territory to launch attacks on its neighbors.

The two also spoke about connections between Tehran and Bagdad, with the Iraqi official stating that his nation is prepared to deepen its ties with Iran and work to remove barriers to trade and economic cooperation between the two.