© REUTERS/ MORTEZA NIKOUBAZLMembers of Iran's Revolutionary Guards
The Armed Forces of Iran and Iraq will hold joint border drills within several days, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Massoud Jazayeri said on Saturday.
"The joint drills... will be held within several days in border areas," Jazayeri said, as quoted by the ISNA news agency.
The statement was made less than a week after
Iraqi Kurdistan's referendum on the region's independence from Baghdad. According to the official results of Kurdistan's Independent High Elections and Referendum Commission, 92.7 percent of the voters cast their ballots in support of independence. Both Iran and Iraq criticized the independence vote.
Comment: Jazayeri further
said high-ranking commanders of Iran's Armed Forces held a meeting, chaired by Chairman of the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri, earlier in the day to discuss the Iraqi government's official requests from Tehran in the wake of the referendum.
He added that the meeting was "in line with the declared policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran to help safeguard Iraq's solidarity and territorial integrity and following a request by the central Iraqi government for cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran on the establishment of the central government's authority on the two countries' border terminals."
Jazayeri emphasized that participants at the meeting once again stressed the importance of safeguarding Iraq's territorial integrity and voiced their opposition to the "illegal" referendum held in the northern Kurdistan region.
They also adopted the "necessary decisions to establish security along borders and receive forces of the Iraqi central government for deployment at border posts," he added.
The Saturday meeting was held three days after the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces and his Iraqi counterpart Major General Othman al-Ghanmi held talks in Tehran.
Iran bans oil shipments to and from Iraqi Kurdistan
Iran's Ministry of Roads and Urban Development has warned companies against shipping oil to and from Iraqi Kurdistan "until further notice" following on from the region's unconstitutional independence referendum held on Monday, Iranian news agencies reported on Saturday.
This is the latest blow to Iraqi Kurdistan that has been barred from receiving or departing international flights and has had its international border with Turkey taken over by Iraqi federal authorities, rendering the region isolated.
"Given the recent developments in the region, it is suitable that international transportation companies and drivers active in this field avoid loading and carrying oil products to and from the Iraqi Kurdistan Region until further notice," a directive by the ministry's Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization said.
It remains to be seen how the Kurdistan Regional Government will respond to the latest move that seeks to completely isolate the region that is yet to declare independence since the referendum results were in favor.
Comment: Jazayeri further said high-ranking commanders of Iran's Armed Forces held a meeting, chaired by Chairman of the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri, earlier in the day to discuss the Iraqi government's official requests from Tehran in the wake of the referendum. Iran bans oil shipments to and from Iraqi Kurdistan