Iran’s top security official said the new security agreement that Tehran and Baghdad signed last week is aimed at preventing foreign powers from destabilizing the region, while Iraq played down the pact as a simple border agreement.
“We must not allow others to destabilize the region. Instead, we should preserve stability along this path. That is why we signed an important security agreement with Iraq,” Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said in a televised interview about his recent visit to Baghdad and Lebanon.
The agreement includes “a mutual commitment to prevent any disruption by individuals, groups, or third countries, in such a way that no party can use the other’s territory against the other side or create breaches in security,” Larijani said.
He linked the deal to recent regional tensions, saying that “even in the past 12-day war this issue was taken into consideration; part of the war was supported from the skies of some countries," referring to nations Iran says supported Israel's attacks on Iran.
On Wednesday, however, Iraq’s National Security Advisory issued a clarification rejecting reports of a new agreement, stressing instead that a memorandum of understanding on border security had been signed.
The advisory said the agreement builds on a 2023 protocol concerning Iranian Kurdish opposition groups. It emphasized that “there is no security agreement between the two countries; rather, it is a security memorandum of understanding.”
Washington voices opposition
Iraq’s National Security Advisor Qassem al-Araji met with US Chargé d’Affaires Steven Fagin on Saturday to discuss the deal, which Washington has opposed.
In their meeting, Araji “reviewed the details of the security memorandum of understanding signed between Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding border control, which contributes to supporting regional security and stability, preventing smuggling and infiltration,” his office said.
Washington, however, has argued the deal undermines Iraqi sovereignty. “We oppose any legislation that is inconsistent with the goals of our bilateral security assistance and partnership and runs counter to strengthening Iraq’s existing security institutions,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Tuesday.
“We support genuine Iraqi sovereignty, not legislation that would turn Iraq into an Iranian satellite state,” she added.
