Iran to step up border security in coordination with Turkey 

Iran and Turkey are to enhance border security in a coordinated effort according to the commander of Iran’s border guards, Brigadier General Ahmed Ali Kuderzi.

Kuderzi made the announcement following a meeting held via video conference with other senior border officials from the Iranian provinces of west Azerbaijan and Kurdistan and the commander of the Turkish gendarmerie.

“During these talks, security issues and possible problems at the borders were discussed,” he is quoted as saying yesterday by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).  Intelligence sharing between the two countries in regards to border security was also on the agenda amid mutual concerns of the infiltration of weapons and terrorist groups crossing between the border regions. The general also mentioned Turkey’s considerations to repatriate criminals who have crossed the border and the exchange of information with other neighbouring countries.

Last year, the Turkish and Iranian armies carried out joint operations against the Kurdish PKK group and its Iranian affiliate, the Kurdistan Free Life Party with air raids carried out in northern Iraq. The Iraqi government summoned ambassadors from both countries in protest following the incident. In March 2019, Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu claimed Turkey and Iran carried out a joint raid against Kurdish insurgents along Turkey’s eastern border although this was denied by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

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