TEHRAN (Realist English). The Chairman of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, announced his readiness to share military experience and best practices in the field of defense industry with Iraq. This is reported by the Iranian English-language TV channel Press TV.
“The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran enjoys high potentialities and capabilities in various fields, including the fight against terrorism and defense industry and can transfer this experience and knowledge to the Iraqi armed forces to help bolster security in Iraq,” he said.
“The level of the two countries’ military relations does not conform to my expectations. The two countries’ people and armed forces must have excellent relations with each other and [realization of] this issue is among important responsibilities of me and you.” Bagheri said during a meeting with Iraqi Defense Minister Thabet Muhammad al-Abbasi.
Bagheri reminded that in 2014, Iran provided the Iraqi armed forces with military facilities and equipment to fight ISIS (an organization banned in the Russian Federation), and Iranian advisers were present on the battlefield together with the Iraqi armed forces.
The Iranian military commander expressed regret that some points of the memorandum of understanding signed between the two countries in 2015 for the development of cooperation in the field of defense have not been implemented. Therefore, Bagheri called on his Iranian and Iraqi colleagues to hold consultations at various levels to strengthen more effective cooperation.
In turn, Abbasi noted that the Iraqi armed forces are ready to intensify military cooperation with Iran.
