Iraqi–Iranian Security MoU rekindles a decade of border deals—and old controversies

Shafaq News

3 days ago

Shafaq News – Baghdad
A new security memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Iraq and Iran has reignited debate over sovereignty, parliamentary oversight, and Iraq's vulnerability to regional rivalries.
Signed on Tuesday under the auspices of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, the document upgrades an earlier security record into a broader agreement between National Security Advisor Qassem al-Araji and his Iranian counterpart Ali Larijani.
Objectives and Security Provisions
According to a senior Iraqi security source, the MoU aims to strengthen border protection, address the presence of Iranian opposition groups in the Kurdistan Region, and prevent the emergence of a PKK-style model in Iraq's frontier districts. It establishes mechanisms for intelligence sharing, joint patrols, counter-narcotics coordination, and monitoring ISIS movements along roughly 1,450 kilometers of border, about 600 kilometers of which lie inside the Kurdistan Region.
Al-Araji said the accord builds directly on the March 2023 border security agreement, calling it its 'foundation.' That earlier deal focused on tightening control along the Kurdistan Region frontier, where Tehran has accused armed dissidents of staging cross-border attacks.
Parliamentary Oversight and Political Reactions
Kareem Abu Souda, a member of the parliamentary Security and Defense Committee, criticized the absence of legislative review, noting that the Council of Representatives had not been informed due to its current suspension. He told Shafaq News the committee 'rejects any external interference outside the framework of formal agreements,' and insisted any pact 'must be presented to Parliament in line with constitutional procedures.'
Security expert Sarmad al-Bayati described the MoU as mutually beneficial for border management and threat reduction, linking it to the 2023–2024 withdrawal of armed Iranian opposition factions from Iraq. 'The memorandum does not contain secret clauses,' he stressed.
MP Mukhtar al-Moussawi of the Foreign Relations Committee called Iran Iraq's 'strategic depth,' recalling Tehran's early military assistance against ISIS in 2014 and saying the agreement 'affirms that Iraq is not alone.'
US Rejection and Regional Pushback
The US State Department warned the MoU could weaken Iraqi security institutions and 'turn Iraq into a client state of Iran.' Spokesperson Tammy Bruce argued it undermined efforts to build independent Iraqi defense capabilities.
Baghdad's embassy in Washington responded that Iraq is not subordinate to any state's policies, that its decisions reflect independent national will, and that it maintains balanced relations with both neighbors and the United States based on mutual respect and shared interests.
Iran's Embassy in Baghdad also rejected Washington's position, calling it 'an unacceptable intrusion into the relations between two neighboring and sovereign states' and accusing the United States of pursuing a destabilizing approach in the region. The statement said such actions violate the UN Charter and international law.
Domestic Political Divide
Salah al-Zubaidi of the Iran-aligned al-Nasr Coalition said Washington has no right to dictate Iraq's security policy, though he acknowledged the possibility of US economic pressure to limit Iranian influence.
Security analyst Ahmed al-Sharifi told Shafaq News that under the 2008 US–Iraq Strategic Framework Agreement, Washington can raise objections because Iran is a US adversary. 'For now, the MoU remains a security understanding, not a treaty, and therefore carries limited legal weight,' he said.
Security expert Adnan al-Kanani described the memorandum as part of long-term cooperation but stressed political divisions over Baghdad's closeness to Tehran. He noted that distancing Iranian opposition elements—estimated at around 20,000 people, including families—remains a central goal.
A Decade of Agreements and Flashpoints
The 2023 accord, reaffirmed by al-Araji as the base of the current MoU, followed Tehran's September ultimatum to disarm and relocate armed Iranian Kurdish groups by the 19th of that month. Baghdad complied by moving them from border zones to designated camps. Those measures came after Iranian Revolutionary Guard missile and drone strikes in September and November 2022 against targets in the Kurdistan Region—operations Tehran framed as counter-terrorism, but which intensified pressure for formal border arrangements.
Earlier milestones include the July 2017 military cooperation MoU, which expanded joint training and logistics but drew US concern over deepening Iranian military ties, and the December 2014 defense cooperation MoU signed at the height of ISIS's advance.
The deeper legal backdrop is the 1975 Algiers Agreement, which settled land and river boundaries along the Shatt al-Arab—a reference point repeatedly revived in moments of crisis.
Over the past decade—2014, 2017, 2023, and now 2025—each deal has been followed by cycles of coercion or escalation. The latest memorandum again seeks to codify border rules in hopes of reducing friction.
Whether this MoU breaks that cycle will depend less on the language of the agreement than on transparent enforcement and Baghdad's ability to shield itself from the gravitational pull of competing regional powers. Potential spoilers, according to observers, include renewed Iranian strikes in Kurdistan, shifts in Iraq's domestic political balance, or US economic measures aimed at curbing Tehran's influence.