TEHRAN, February, 9. /TASS/. Iran is ready to train Iraqi officers in its military academies, Iran’s News Agency IRNA reports.

The head of the elite Iranian Army’s Command and General Staff College (DAFOOS) brigadier general Hossein Valivand told the IRNA news agency that the academy is ready to admit Iraqi officers in order to undergo and improve military service. According to the general, the issue of training officers from the neighboring country was discussed during Iraqi Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi’s visit to Tehran last December.

The IRNA news agency reminds that during the negotiations in Tehran al-Obeidi has urged Iran to provide the Iraqi army with strong support. Iran’s Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan has responded to his counterpart that “Iran’s support for the Iraqi armed forces is part of the Islamic Republic’s defense and security strategies”. As far as training of Kurdish Peshmerga military forces in DAFOOS are concerned, the general Valivand highlights that “DAFOOS is an elite military academy and is ready to cooperate with armed forces of all friendly countries”.

“When our Defense Ministry signs a security defense contract with a country, then we can train officers of that country or send staff for training” – the head of DAFOOS claims. He adds that officers from Oman, Pakistan and Syria are currently taking training courses in DAFOOS, while Iranian officers are being trained in China, Pakistan and Oman.