Iran steps up military presence near Iraqi borders against "separatist" threats

TEHRAN, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has stepped up military presence near the western and northwestern borders of the country to deal with "separatist" threats, an IRGC commander said Friday.

Armored IRGC units and special forces have been deployed "to prevent the infiltration of terrorists affiliated with separatist groups based in northern Iraq and the smuggling of weapons into the country," Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the IRGC Ground Force, was quoted as saying by official IRNA news agency.

The forces would decisively confront insecurity caused by "evil-doers and anti-Iranian separatist terrorist groups in the northwest of the country," Pakpour added.

The IRGC recently used artillery and drones to attack what it called the positions of Iranian "separatists" based in Iraq's northern Kurdistan Region.