TEHRAN – Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib said on Sunday that Iraq’s central government has provided guarantees on the security of Iran’s borders with Iraqi Kurdistan.

Speaking at a judicial gathering in Mashhad, Khatib said Iran has recently detained a terrorist group that tried to cross the western borders of Iran. “With the cooperation of the new Iraqi government and the guarantees given, we hope to see security on the western borders and the non-repetition of [insecurity], and we remind and emphasize the responsibility of the Iraqi [Kurdistan] region.”

He warned, “If insecurity is created for the Islamic Republic, any action on the borders will be met with a decisive and overwhelming response from the children of this nation in the armed forces and security agencies.”

The intelligence minister also addressed the unrest that gripped Iran last year. “According to the documents obtained, during last year's riots, more than 200 media outlets, 35 think tanks and dozens of intelligence services were active against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said, according to Tasnim. “The media war that was carried out by the enemies of the Iranian nation during last year's riots was much stronger than the events that happened in some streets of the country. With the vigilance of the people, the system of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the security and intelligence agencies of the country understood well the various dimensions of the hybrid war last year and finally came out of this war with pride.”

Khatib further considered the magnificent attendance of the people in last year's national and religious ceremonies as neutralizing the enemy's plots and plans. “Only a few days after the massive participation of people in the march of Bahman 22 [the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution] last year, dozens of European and non-European intelligence services requested communication with the Islamic Republic of Iran. This was while during last year's riots, the leaders, figures and officials of these governments were building a consensus against the Islamic Republic of Iran and considered the system's work to be over.”

Khatib said the proactive foreign policy agenda of the Raisi administration helped foil the enemy’s plots. “In addition to people's vigilance, communication, interactions and internal and external agreements of Ayatollah Raisi's government last year was another factor in the failure of the enemies in implementing their conspiracies against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he continued.

He also said that under President Ebrahim Raisi, Iran achieved a leap in terms of selling oil and condensates. “The foreign interactions of the government and the agreements between Iran and China, Iran and Russia and the regional agreements between Iran and Saudi Arabia and the UAE have naturally been able to significantly reduce the conditions of sanctions and the maximum pressure that the enemies had designed,” Khatib said. 

The minister also shared an intelligence assessment that the enemy’s hybrid war will continue this year. “This year, the hybrid war of the enemy will continue in various forms, and it is necessary for us to have an accurate intelligence and security estimate in the face of this hybrid war,” he said.