Iraq completes 200-kilometer security fence along Iranian border

In compliance with an agreement established earlier this year between Baghdad and Tehran to fortify border security measures, Iraq proudly declared the conclusion of a 200-kilometer security barrier along its border with Iran on Tuesday.

An official from the Iraqi Interior Ministry revealed the successful installation of a 200-kilometer-long security barrier, complemented by the placement of over 150 thermal cameras across the border shared with Iran.

The primary objective of this action is to deter illicit activities and smuggling that have been occurring along the border strip between the two countries.

Incidents from the prior year included Iran launching multiple attacks on sites belonging to Iranian Kurdish opposition groups, which Tehran accused of involvement in the protests that unsettled Iran subsequent to the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022, following her arrest by the Iranian morality police.

A security agreement between the two nations was finalized in March, stipulating that Tehran demanded Iraq to disarm Iranian Kurdish opposition groups by September 19 and relocate them to designated camps.

Iraq’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fuad Hussein, clarified that these groups have been situated in the Kurdistan region of Iraq for a span of four to five decades. He further elucidated that these groups have been relocated from the border areas with Iran to secluded camps within the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

In late August, Nasser Kanaani, spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, iterated that the deadline to disarm and relocate these opposition groups from the Iraq-Iran border would not be extended.