Investigating the security threats of Iraqi Kurdistan region on Iranian Kurdistan

The Kurdistan region as the heartland of the Middle East is considered a potential threat to these countries due to its ethnic, religious and historical ties with the Kurdistan region in Iran, Syria and Turkey. The security situation in the western region of Iran, especially the Kurdistan region of Iran, is largely affected by the security threats of the Iraqi Kurdistan region and the movements of hostile groups, extremist movements and groups, and foreign intelligence and espionage services in these areas. In this regard, the present research has been carried out with the aim of investigating and explaining the security threats of Iraqi Kurdistan region on Iranian Kurdistan. In terms of the purpose, this research is applied and its method is descriptive-analytical with a qualitative approach. The statistical population of the research includes experts and specialists in the security field of Kurdistan province, especially the border areas, who are closely related to the actions of the Kurdistan region and its security effects. The size of the statistical sample was determined based on the theoretical saturation limit of 23 people. In addition to using information and library sources, semi-structured interviews were used to collect information, and data analysis was done in the MAXQDA software environment based on the content analysis method. The findings of the research showed that a total of 487 themes (free code) were extracted from the interviews, which are important topics such as arms and ammunition smuggling, recruitment of young people to terrorist groups against the regime, the region of Iraqi Kurdistan as a platform for spy services, the presence of the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia. As the main threat factors, the media activities of hostile groups and differences among the ethnic groups and religions of the country are one of the main security threats caused by the activities of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in the Kurdistan province and, accordingly, the entire country. Based on the results of the research, confronting active espionage cells in the Kurdistan region, extensive media propaganda, arms and ammunition smuggling, more control over the borders are among the main measures that should be taken by the security agencies.