TEHRAN – Mohammad Kazem Al Sadeq, Iran’s ambassador to Iraq, met on Monday with Qassem al-Araji, Iraq’s national security advisor. 

In the meeting, the two sides discussed the political and security situation in the region and the world, Iraqi News Agency reported. 

Al-Araji discussed with the Iranian ambassador the relations between the two countries and ways to develop them, in a way that serves the common interests of the two friendly countries and peoples, INA added.

It continued that Al-Araji clarified that "the Iraqi government is working to achieve balance in its relations with countries, and distances itself from the policy of axes."

The Iraqi security official also noted that "Iraq is always looking forward to stability in the region, security, political and economic, to serve the peoples and countries of the region and the world."

The Iranian ambassador also underlined Iran’s support for the success of the administration of Iraq’s new prime minister Mohammad al-Sudani.

Al Sadeq also stressed Iran’s support for cooperation in the field of electricity, gas and energy. He pointed out that "the al-Sudani administration has the ingredients for success, the advancement of the country, and the provision of services."

Iran and the central government of Iraq enjoy cordial ties but the presence of Iranian Kurdish separatist groups in Iraq’s Kurdistan region has affected the relations to some extent. 

Iran has started a fresh round of shelling the Iranian Kurdish separatist groups based in Iraqi Kurdistan after asking the Iraqi central government and the local one in the autonomous Kurdistan region about disarming and expelling the groups.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Ground Force announced in a short statement Monday that it resumed pummeling the bases of the separatist groups in Iraqi Kurdistan with missiles and drones.

The statement said the targeted bases were used for training and organizing terrorist separatist groups in the northern region of Iraq. It also said the groups are the mercenaries of Global Arrogance, a reference to the Western great powers.

The Iranian ambassador to Iraq said in an interview with Al Alam news television that Iran has several times called on Iraq’s central and local officials to disarm the Iranian Kurdish separatist groups but no action was taken by the Iraqi side.

Al Sadeq said that Iran has provided more than 70 documents to Iraq on the presence of armed terrorist groups in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. He noted that Iran has asked the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan authorities to disarm armed terrorist groups within a period not exceeding 10 days.

The Iranian ambassador to Iraq said that the commander of the Quds Force visited Iraq and met the Iraqi leaders, indicating that Iran had agreed with the central government and the authorities of the Kurdistan region to deploy Iraqi forces on the borders of Kurdistan, but it was not implemented.

The local government of Iraqi Kurdistan has said that it will take Iran’s concerns into account in regard to the separatist groups but so far it has failed to deliver on its promises.