Bagheri comments on recent developments in Caucasus, Iraq

MEHR: Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri says that Azerbaijan fully retook its territories after the recent developments in Caucasus, stressing the need for full implementation of the security agreement with Iraq.

General Bagheri made the comments while visiting the Supreme National Defense University to mark the start of the new academic year. At a ceremony at the university, the Iranian interior minister, the head of Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) headquarters, and a number of Iranian and foreign students were also present.

Addressing the ceremony, the Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces pointed to the recent development in the South Caucasus region and said that what Azerbaijan did was re-exercising its sovereignty over its entire territories. 

"What Azerbaijan has done so far is take back its territorial integrity. That is, with the events of recent weeks, it has been able to re-exercise complete sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said.

"Of course, in all these lands, minorities must live peacefully and with rights equal to other citizens," he emphasized.

"From now on, we have two neighbors, Azerbaijan and Armenia, in the Caucasus, both of which are respected by us, and maintaining their territorial integrity is important to us, and this is an issue that we have emphasized in our meetings and talks with the officials of both countries," General Bagheri further underscored.

"Therefore, we hope that by achieving complete peace, the Caucasus region will witness peace and reconstruction for the better welfare of its people without changing the geographical and geopolitical boundaries of the region."

Meanwhile, he stressed that "there will no be justification for continuing the war after this."

As regards the recent implementation of the security pact between Iran and Iraq regarding adversary group based in the Kurdistan region in the north, the general stressed, "Basically, our agreement with Iraq was not only the tactical relocation of the separatist groups and their move to a point far from the borders, but their complete disarmament was and is our objective."