Middle East turmoil has destabilized more than half of Iran’s borders, warns Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) ground forces. 

“Nearly 60% of the other side of our border is not controlled by the neighboring country, and the border is in the control of terrorist elements,” he said. At a Feb. 18 commemoration for the IRGC’s elite Saberin Unit, which is tasked with fighting terrorist groups on Iran’s borders as well as fighting in Iraq and Syria, he described the region as “turbulent and chaotic."

Pakpour said there is little security in a number of cities on Iran’s western border with Iraq. According to Pakpour, near the northwestern Iranian city of Sardasht, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has a presence, and there is “no news” of Iraqi troops. He added, however, that there are also terrorist groups on Iran’s side of the border.

On Iran’s eastern border, Pakistan has “no effective presence," and there are terrorist groups there, Pakpour said. He said that elements of the Taliban and the Islamic State have a presence on the border with Afghanistan and the government in Afghanistan “has no rule” over the border.