Senior Iranian Army Commander: A 40-Kilometer Depth into Iraqi Territory is Our Red Line

A senior commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran's army announced on Tuesday, January 6, that a 40-kilometer depth into Iraqi territory is Iran's red line for what he described as "terrorist" groups. Ahmadreza Pourdastan, commander of the Iranian Ground Forces, told the IRNA news agency that "we have drawn a red line for terrorist groups at a depth of 40 kilometers into Iraqi territory." Referring to the advances of the Islamic State group (ISIS) in Iraq, he stated: "When this group approached the borders of Iran, we established a red line at 40 kilometers into Iraqi territory and emphasized that if they cross this red line, they will face decisive action from the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran." This is the first time an Iranian military commander has mentioned a red line near Iran's borders concerning the Islamic State group, which has captured vast areas of Syrian and Iraqi territory over the past six months. Iranian officials had previously referred to the holy cities of Iraq, including Najaf, Karbala, Samarra, and Kadhimayn, as Iran's red line in direct confrontation with ISIS. The Islamic State group, which holds fundamentalist religious views, is currently the target of airstrikes from the U.S.-led international coalition and ground confrontations from Kurdish, Shia, and Iraqi army forces. In another part of his interview, the commander stated that following Iran's warning, "the terrorist and Takfiri group ISIS received our message and quickly moved away from the designated area." He had previously emphasized that "we monitor these groups completely and are familiar with their methods of operation." The Islamic Republic of Iran claims to provide military advice to Iraqi forces in their fight against ISIS. In recent months, multiple reports have emerged regarding the activities and deaths of several senior commanders of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Iraq. Last week, the IRGC reported that Hamid Taghavi, one of its senior commanders, was killed on January 6 by "snipers" from the Islamic State in Iraq. According to this force, Mr. Taghavi was in Iraq for "advisory" activities and was considered one of the "commanders of the Samarra axis." Previously, various images and reports from domestic and foreign media had circulated regarding the presence of Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force, in Iraq, and Yadollah Javani, senior advisor to the representative of the Supreme Leader in the IRGC, stated on October 12 that "General Soleimani is present at the front lines." Meanwhile, Ammar al-Hakim, head of the Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq, who traveled to Qom, emphasized on Tuesday the "important role of Iran" in combating the Islamic State group. According to the IRNA news agency, he told reporters: "The assistance of the Islamic Republic of Iran has been provided without any expectations and to all Shia, Sunni, and Kurdish groups." This report indicates that Mr. Hakim's visit to Qom was to provide a report to the religious authorities residing in this city regarding "political, security, and religious developments, the holding of Arbaeen ceremonies, the fight against the terrorist group ISIS, and the failed efforts of this group to undermine the unity of the Muslim people of Iraq and the significant role of the religious community." In another development, Mahmoud Alavi, Iran's Minister of Intelligence, who went to the parliament on Tuesday, told members of the National Security Commission that "security forces have so far not allowed ISIS to carry out even one anti-security action in our country and will not allow them to do so in the future." According to ISNA news agency and the spokesperson for this commission, Mr. Alavi claimed: "Terrorist groups try to exacerbate insecurity by introducing explosive and suicide devices, but the soldiers of Imam Zaman have discovered and neutralized all these efforts."