Iran, Iraq sign security co-op agreement

Xinhua News Agency
November 18, 2005

TEHRAN, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Iran and Iraq here on Thursday signed an agreement on bolstering security cooperation, the official IRNA news agency reported on Friday.

The agreement was inked by Iranian Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani and visiting Iraqi National Security Advisor Mowaffaq al-Rubaie on Thursday night.

Under the agreement, the two sides will work together for handling security-related issues and holding training courses in the field, said IRNA.

"If the security pact is put into practice, it will help Iraq restore stability," Larijani was quoted as saying.

"Further Tehran-Baghdad cultural, political, and economic cooperation would also help allay the concerns of the Iranian people about the presence of some political opposition groups in Iraq," Larijani said, referring to the Mujahedeen Khalq Organization (MKO) members active in Iraq.

Iran has accused the United States of granting protected status to the anti-government MKO, well-known for its responsibility in the 1981 bombing attack, which killed the then Iranian President Mohammad-Ali Rajaei and Premier Mohammad-Javad Bahonar.

Iran and Iraq fought a disastrous war from 1980 to 1988, during which totally more than 500,000 people were killed.

The downfall of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein paved the way to the normalization of relations between the two once hostile neighbors.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari paid a landmark official visit to Iran in mid-July, opening a new chapter in bilateral relations.