ISTANBUL

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held a phone call with Bafel Talabani, the head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in Iraq, to discuss "terrorist activity" along the shared border and the need to strengthen security cooperation, according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry.

"During the conversation, Bafel Talabani expressed his condolences and sympathy over the martyrdom of the Supreme Leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) and all those killed in the American-Zionist crime," the ministry said in a statement posted on the US social media company X’s platform.

Araghchi also referred to "terrorist movements" along the shared border and stressed the need to strengthen cooperation to safeguard border security in line with bilateral security understandings, the statement said.

Talabani highlighted steps taken to reinforce border security and emphasized cooperation and coordination to prevent any destabilizing actions and maintain security and stability along the border, it added.