Clashes on the Sulaymaniyah-Iran Border Over Arms Smuggling Attempt

Clashes erupted on the border between Sulaymaniyah province and Iran involving border guard forces and an armed group attempting to smuggle a shipment of weapons into Iranian territory. The commander of the border guard forces in Kurdistan province, Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Hatami, stated that his forces received intelligence about smugglers intending to transport weapons into the country and tracked them to their entry point. The confrontation forced the smugglers to flee under fire from the forces, who managed to seize 20 folding-stock Kalashnikov rifles and 40 ammunition magazines. Hatami emphasized that identifying and arresting the suspects is a priority for security forces, highlighting that securing the border strip and combating arms smuggling are key responsibilities of the border guards in the province.